Music News: Sony Music CEO Doug Morris Is Streaming Big

Morris is the godfather of the music industry. He’s been a top executive at all three of the big record companies: Sony Music, Universal Music Group, and Warner Music Group. He enjoyed soaring profits with the compact disc in the 1980s only to struggle over the last decade as Internet piracy decimated the big record labels. Now Morris says the profits are returning and the thrill is back.

“The industry is transitioning itself into something that will be very valuable, unless we screw it up,” he says. “There’s big money coming in from videos. Huge money. There’s a transition from ownership to access personified by something like Spotify. We’re making a lot of money from this explosion in Internet radio, the Pandoras of the world. You can see Apple getting ready to get into it.” What’s more, the cost of distributing digital music is lower than CDs or vinyl albums. “It’s a better business,” Morris says. “The margins are higher.” - Doug Morris 

 The numbers support him (See illustration below). Industry analyst Alice Enders expects annual music sales in the U.S. to hover at around $5.5 billion over the next three years as declining physical sales are replaced by the digital variety. That’s a relief for an industry that was in free fall for the past decade. Morris likes to say that the distribution of music has changed radically, but the business is still all about relationships. 

There is something about articles like this one that have the power to change perspectives. I would almost compare it to the light at the end of a dark tunnel. Everyone knows the state of the music industry, the changes that it is going through, and all other negativity that surrounds it. To hear the "godfather" of the music industry get excited for what is happening and to have him speak positively on the twist that is the music industry feels like Christmas morning. Full of hope and joy as we metaphorically wait to unwrap our presents. I'm definitely looking forward to a great year. 


http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-02-07/sony-music-ceo-doug-morris-is-streaming-big