Our music consumption has constantly changed every few years. From records to CD’s to streaming music to YouTube, the way the world gets it music is constantly in a state of flux. No trend stays around for too long, it seems, and it’s about time we make way for a new one. If past trends are any indication, the way we consume music is changing faster than ever, and we can already tell what one of the new ways is going to be.
Yes, we will still get music the way we have been. YouTube is probably going to be a juggernaut in the music industry and shape the way music is consumed in a major way for years to come, but there are either methods on the horizon that we are already starting to see seep in and catch a little of the market share.
One of the big ones is smart home devices. These can include Alexa, Amazon Echo, Google Home and others are giving us new ways to experience our music. We can simply ask for a song we want rather than set up a playlist, browse a random selection or go to next video suggested by YouTube. This is a big change, because it means that marketers and artists will work harder to grab that cultural mindset and to make a name for themselves. They want their song to be the song that you ask for, so they will have to work a whole later harder at PR and getting everyone to talk about their song.
Most people may not know the name of the song or even the name of the artist they want to hear, but that’s okay, because these smart home devices are designed to crudely communicate with the homeowner and find out what they are really wanting to do. You could ask Alexa to play that song that talks about a road in the country and get “Old Town Road” and a list of similar songs to pick from. Knowing the name of the song won’t necessarily be as important as it used to be.
Music consumption will be changed at a local level as well, as more niche markets have more control over the songs that are popular thanks to social media and various music platforms. YouTube isn’t the only major media platform anymore, and local competition will help drive what is popular. Countries like India, Australia, China and South Korea all have their own homegrown music services that are in fierce competition with YouTube and that cater to their country’s unique musical tastes.
As we see technology emerge and rapidly change, the face of music will change as well. We are a long way from 8-tracks and vinyl records these days, but pretty soon we will look back at this decade and be amazed at how our musical consumption has changed and how far it has come from what is currently considered to be the worldwide standard.
