Music industry on a magical digital tour
The rise of streaming has contributed to the decline of the once-flourishing CD-pressing business in SA
Long plagued by piracy and relatively low sales - for all but a few artists such as Brenda Fassie, Cassper Nyovest and Kurt Darren - the local music industry has never been famous for high profit margins. The fourth industrial revolution is set to further disrupt the industry as the streaming revolution ushers in new business models. Globally, the digital age has lowered barriers of entry for artists and producers, destroyed the traditional business model, and allowed consumers to stream millions of songs for less than R100 a month. Locally, the music business has also seen massive disruption over the past two decades. Despite the still high cost of data, Dharam Sewraj, a former director of Universal Music, says music streaming is growing fast but much has yet to be done before it becomes mainstream. Who still buys CDs? The rise of streaming has contributed to the decline of the once-flourishing CD-pressing business in SA. Many operators have shut their doors and others have downsca...
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