As it enters the third decade of the millennium, the recorded music business is in rude health. Revenues are about to enter the second half of a decade of annual growth, streaming is booming, and investment is pouring in. Simultaneously, the fundamentals of the business are changing, from artist and songwriter careers through music company business models to audience behaviour. However, there is also much that is changing too slowly. The coming decade will underpin a story of old versus new, of insurgents and incumbents. There will be winners and losers on both sides. The factor determining success will be appetite for change.

Companies and brands mentioned in this report:  Amazon Music, Amuse, Apple Music, BTS, CDbaby, Deezer, Downtown Music Holdings, Ellie Goulding, Facebook, imeem, iTunes, Kobalt, Landr, Last.FM, Level, Loudr, Melboss, Napster, Soundbetter, Soundtrap, Sonalytic, Songtrust, Sony Music, Splice, Spotify, Taylor Swift, Tencent, the Orchard, TikTok, Tunecore, Universal Music Group, Vivendi, Warner Music, YouTube