In addition, in recent years, music fans from all over the world have noticed an increase in interest in vinyl platters and a revival of the concert industry trend. However, along with this, there was an increasing demand for virtual performances that could be joined by thousands of people, regardless of their location. The demand for streaming music services and resources is also steadily increasing.

Despite the pandemic restrictions, many large and independent labels, distributors, and aggregators have decided to go digital to offer and promote their products on streaming services and reach a larger audience worldwide.

Overview of the Trends that Shaped the Industry

Anticipating events, we can say that there won’t be critical or absolutely revolutionary decisions in the future. At the same time, the development of content digitalization and the expansion of remote content delivery options will continue to grow. Below you can see the main trends that are expected in the near future.

Increasing revenue from the digital music industry

It is not surprising that, according to the current situation, the digital music industry sector will сщтештгу ещ grow in the future. Currently, there is a huge number of new subscribers who register on music streaming sites or download music to their devices from the Internet.

Undoubtedly, this trend will gain momentum in the coming year. Estimated revenue from streaming services in the USA alone will pass the $10 billion mark and grow to $12.5 billion by 2025.

Increasing the value of user-generated content

This trend gained popularity last year, and there is every reason to believe this situation will continue. More and more people worldwide are gaining access to the ability to create their own digital content using various applications, services, social networks, and more.

It is worth saying that among the technology leaders who helped this trend, the first three places are taken by TikTok, Instagram, and Twitch. Using them, anyone can create content of high quality and publish it on the Internet. It has become a frequent practice to add licensed music to the content made by industry activists.

The popularity of this trend lies in less commercialization of content. People tend to believe more in such creators than big brands. In addition, various online platforms offer a variety of tools for promoting musical content, opting for advertising, setting up a donation program, and more.

Short videos with music

This format of presentation of musical content has both its followers and obvious critics. However, it should be given credit – it drives the industry in modern realities. In this category, TikTok is the first non-gaming service with a large audience in the US and UK. In addition, this platform has broken all records for downloadability on mobile devices.

In many ways, such popularity explains the relatively simple use of these services: you can master them in just a few minutes. The use of licensed music has recently become more frequent on Tik Tok as well as similar platforms. Likely that this trend will continue to grow in the future. Given the peculiarities of technological development, people are increasingly switching to fast, easy, and dynamic content, which you can quickly get and understand.

That is why YouTube Shorts and Instagram Reels are not far behind Tik Tok. Big music companies are changing their strategies and increasingly focusing on short videos to promote their artists. According to statistics, such short videos can attract 49% more viewers than traditional ones. This figure is expected to exceed 80% in the near future.

The influence of social networks and gaming platforms

The fact remains that for generation Z, the sources mentioned in the title of this section will remain a priority for finding musical content. In parallel with these, slightly older people continue to use music streaming services like Spotify or Apple Music.

With their help, music lovers can search for new releases of their favorite artists and bands and discover new content. In addition, newcomer artists will continue to benefit from curated playlists through the same social platforms like Instagram or TikTok.

According to a recent study, about 80% of TikTok users indicate the resource of the same name as the only source for finding new music. As for Millennials and Generation Z, they use mostly (about 60%) Instagram. It is worth noting that this study was conducted among users of this network in the United States.

The influence of video games is also noteworthy. So, for example, when conducting a study among the age category of 13 years and older, it was found that they mainly use game content to search for music. No wonder Twitch soundtracks are so popular among the younger generation.

Conclusions

Music is undeniably a key part of people’s lives. The same situation was earlier and will be the same in the future. One of the peculiarities of the musical sphere is that it actively reacts to changes. There has been a recent trend towards increasing the popularity of short and low-commercial music videos that you can find on platforms like Tik Tok, Instagram, or YouTube. Such platforms are in high demand, mostly among teenagers. At the same time, older people prefer to use various streaming music services. Among them, the most popular ones are Spotify Qobuz, Apple Music, and others. With their help, you can find almost any content to your taste.

There is a certain probability that there will be new options for delivering music content in the future, including a deeper development of virtual reality technologies. At the same time, I am confident that no revolutionary and abrupt changes are observed.

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What we remember this year

The sunny nu-disco of Breakbot – Be Mine Tonight (feat. Delafleur) is able to warm you up, and maybe it’s a driving boogie to dance to no matter what. Danc sticks and a fat, funky bassline, what could be better?

British indie wizard Joseph Mount
knows his way around an unconventional sound. Metronomy’s endlessly stylish, at times ingratiating and at other times electronically plateauing Up, Higher is the best example of what the band has done in a while.

Soft Kill have cut themselves off from all the plastic mainstream. Pretty Face is a Coldwave Manifesto enhanced by a noirish post-punk melancholy. It has ’90s shoegaze and personal memories and skepticism in its lyrics. A rare fusion of isolated genres.

A minimalist and hooky track from the resident of the cult label Anjunadeep with its dope beat. Lane 8 coolly mixes trance, progressive house and unique atmospheric parts. Great stuff, showing the degree of development of intelligent dance electronica.

A mellow, densy, and drifty track. ROOSEVELT revealed his music in a pop key, enlivening it with the sounds of modern synths. Smooth, catchy vocals serve as a nice complement to the unobtrusive, warm sound.

Balearic native TÂCHES has moved away from house and tropic and focused on a measured R&B rhythm. Stunningly dynamic vocals, lively arrangements and a leisurely pace throughout. Lots of melodic detail, able to bring pleasure to the aesthete listener.

The post-punky The Wants don’t hold back. Irony, euphoria and protest glide through the track. As befits punks, they mock capitalist consumer culture with one simple, repetitive guitar riff.

It’s a strange, rhythmic, wonderfully detailed track. Chromatics broadcasts a sense of special sonic finesse at the junction of seemingly incongruous electronic elements, and the complete absence of vocals. The composition is a clear sound-marker of the project’s profound idea of creativity.

And there’s a bunch of other musicians we’ve put together in a single playlist, too. Check out our compilation of the best tracks from 2020:

Full Playlist:
Whethan – Stay Forever (feat. STRFKR)
Mild Minds – WALLS (feat. Boats)
Metronomy – Up, Higher
Tensnake feat. Fiora – Automatic
WhoMadeWho – Obstacle
Chromatics – TOY
Cubicolor – Melodies
Mickey Kojak – Strange
The Wants – Container
Les Hiboux – Vai Ser Muito Bom (feat A Garota de Ipanema)
Giraffage – Workout
IS TROPICAL – Calling Out
Breakbot – Be Mine Tonight (feat. Delafleur)
Kimchii – Free Mind
WHARVES – Nothing Left to Say
Satin Jackets – I’m With It (feat. Metaxas)
Cheb Miaou & Shermar – So Far Gone
TÂCHES – Desert Rain Ft. Harry Keyworth
Lane 8 – Bear Hug
Aimes – We Are Eternal
Mat Zo feat. Olan – Problems
Oliver Tree – Let Me Down
Anoraak feat. Sarah Maison – Gang
ROOSEVELT – Sign
Dugong Jr – Ghost (Ft. Evangeline)
My Dear – Goodbye Paradise
Third Floor – High (feat. Kamaliza)
Empire Of The Sun – Walking On A Dream (Khamsin Remix)
Life On Planets & Taylor Bense – Cuttin in Line
Soft Kill – Pretty Face
Y.O.G.A. – Your Devotion
Wild & Free – Time
Myd – Moving Men (feat. Mac DeMarco)
Beacon – Feel Something
Rhye – Black Rain
Tycho feat. Saint Sinner – Japan (Satin Jackets Remix)
On Planets – Dont Think So Hard
Miami Horror – Under the Milky Way
Aksel & Aino – Spallanzani
Yuksek – Beirut Ma Bet Mout

The post Best Songs 2020 appeared first on Ola-Verner-Ipoh.

2020 proved that incredible, new music will always reach our ears even in the toughest of times. A lot of cool and interesting stuff was recorded during the bursts of creative activity caused by the quarantine. Here are the very releases that made this year one of a kind:

Whitey – Now That’s Why I Killed – Back from the Underground

Rebellion, protest and counterculture. Whitey has recorded the coolest release combining punk fervor, electro-rock riffs and a psychedelic sound from the ’70s. The tracks hides a whole musical era. It’s simply impossible not to dance to this.

Score: 94 out of 100

Sevdaliza – Shabrang – New Shades of Noir R&B

Sevda Alizadeh has recorded a concept album with references to Persian mythology. Never before has R&B been filled with such complex emotions and catharsis. Spiced with a slight noir sadness, it balances on the edge of neo-soul and trip-hop. The vocals here are peerless and the beat is hypnotic.

Score: 92 out of 100

Cut Copy – Freeze, Melt – Uncut Indie

The Australian legislators of indie music have presented a record that sounds outside of genre boundaries. Recognizable vocals, authentic electronics and concerns about climate change are revealed in the tracks. Cut Copy have been active for 20 years and don’t seem to be about to stop.

Score: 90 out of 100

Cerrone – DNA – Quintessence of Space Disco

This is probably one of the best records in the history of the space disco genre. Marc Cerrone recorded it at the age of 67, endowing it with atmospheric synth cascades with an epic sweep. A true space trip through sound and a great piece of music that inspired Daft Punk, Massive Attack and Bob Sinclair.

Score: 90 out of 100

Tricky – Fall to Pieces – The Dark Side of Trip-Hop

One of the founders developing trip-hop has presented a dark album containing traces of personal tragedy. With Marta singing in each track, Fall to Pieces’ unusual jazz and piano arrangements are revealed in the release with a layered sound.

Score: 88 out of 100

Rey&Kjavik & Ravin – Buddha Bar – An Introspective Journey

A challenge to traditional motifs and modern electronics, Buddha Bar sounds with mystical oriental motifs and lingering soundscapes. Collaboration with Ravin helps to translate the most ancient language – music – into sound.

Rating: 87 out of 100

Yuksek – Nosso Ritmo – Alien level disco

This is the coolest disco release where the producer has mixed elements of 70’s music with house and dans aesthetics. The result is a veritable hurricane of styles that took three years to develop. The collaboration with the likes of Breakbot, Fatnotronic and Processman made the release even more attractive.

Score: 87 out of 100

Poolside – Low Season – Disco by the Pool

Another great disco album straight from sunny California. It has melody, recognizable falsetto vocals and slowness throughout. Pitchfork called the record “The Best New Album.” We share that opinion completely.

Score: 85 out of 100

Tame Impala – The Slow Rush – Psychedelia and perfectionism

The fourth release from the Australian indie-psychedelic masters has everything imbued with a multi-faceted sound in the band’s best tradition. The album is hippop, even if it does contain references to surf rock and Dream-pop.

Rating: 85 out of 100

Sacre – Love Revolution.

At first glance, ordinary EDM is transformed into futuristic story tracks. A concept album in which each track is the story of a single character. The musicians were inspired by Greek mythology and the turmoil in their own minds. It turned out cool.

Score: 85 out of 100

Medsound – New Ride – Disco Metamorphosis

This isn’t just a quality copy, it’s a reimagining of 80’s pop culture with its distinctive vibe and atmosphere. A bit of coldwave, stylish synth passages and tracks with soul. Everything we love is in this old-school sound.

Score: 85 out of 100

The Wants – Container – Lockdown Party Soundtrack

A terrific mix from the birthplace of hardcore, Brooklyn. The album is firmly associated with protesting society and the current world situation. Synth pop multiplied by minimal techno and served with a defiant post-punk attitude. Sickening anxiety about the future and a sense of impending fear come with it.

Score: 83 out of 100

Phenomenal Handclap Band – PHB – A Return to ’70s Aesthetics

A teleport record back to the ’70s. A great release from a time of sonic change: acid rock almost receded, disco and punk rock entered the scene. A classy trip into the old-school era. Pure aesthetics and immersion.

Score: 83 out of 100

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One of the coolest tracks from Friendly Fires this past year! A soft pop vibe, a manifesto against formulaic pop music, drippy vocals and a fast tempo. Run The Wild Flowers came out after the band’s creative hiatus of eight years.

Bold experimenters, true gurus of psychedelic music – Australians Gold Fields have taken up the baton of “breaking the pattern”. The sound of their synths comes from the outer reaches of space and beyond the realms of imagination. Amazing falsetto vocals, indie, authentic electronica and revived disco in Cocoon really delighted us.

A revelation for us was the musician Oliver Tree, who not only wears a stylish 90’s outfit, but also creates no less bright tracks! His composition Miracle Man is chaotic and full of undisguised post-punk fervor. The provocative look of the artist is supported by a bouncy combo of indie electronica and carefree guitar sound.

Another track is a real drip-pop gem from Dutch electro-coudesters Kraak & Smaak. Well-lubricated lo-fi arrangements, unhurried downtempo and inimitable vibe of analog synths in collab with Californian indie folk project The Palms – this is a rare find indeed!

Yes, we love disco! And Luis Dubuc from Mystery Skulls has uncompromisingly delivered a hit disco-boy in the best traditions of Daft Punk and Prince! The sounds of old-school synths and driving vocals of the track left a deep, sparkling trail of color-music in our hearts and minds!

The genre marathon was kicked up by a languid, sensual and summery warm track from the Australian nu-disco adepts of Miami Horror. It’s got something of ’80s R&B, spiced up with great vocals and a unique vibe of live instruments. Restless also came out as a stylish music video.

And on the same pedestal with Nick Murphy appeared Frenchmen FORM with their fresh incarnation of neo-soul and non-trivial synth arrangements. Three bodies and one soul are encapsulated in the track trigger. It’s post-Riohead inspiration, similarities to Chet Faker’s vocals and authentic electronica in the arrangements.

An ideological follower of the era of the birth of an entire musical culture, producer Luxxury has recorded a veritable disco anthem called Turn Off All The Lights. The resident of Kitsuné and Eskimo Recordings’ labels hit the bull’s-eye of ’70s thematic sound with his flawless aesthetic.

Many more musicians with their bold, daring and taste-defying tracks were memorable for us: Cubicolor, released on the cult label Anjunadeep, Twin Shadow with their both humdrum and unconventional ballad Curshed, trendy post-disco stylists Low Island – they all gave us the pleasure of belonging to truly iconic music, creating here and now a genre evolution!

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