Creator hubs Creator tools’ next growth driver

The 20,000 foot view: The emerging competitive dynamic between insurgents and incumbents is the catalyst for an unprecedented period of innovation in the music creator tools space. However, because this dynamic is underpinned by substantial institutional investment and strong market growth, the second order effect is the further fragmentation of an already congested and oversupplied marketplace. This stands in stark contrast to new music creators’ demand for simplicity and speed. These are the market conditions that are giving rise to a new breed of creator tools platforms: creator hubs. These hubs aim to pull as much of the creative workflow into one place as possible and, in turn, exercise unrivalled influence over the wider marketplace. 

Key insights: 

• The music            tools sector was worth            billion            2020 - up            from 2019,                       of that revenue from digital
• Creator hubs            that provide suites of tools            cater for multiple parts of            creative workflow) will reshape the            and will power new modes            creativity
• Many creator            will drive the growth of            to DAW based music workflows,            some hubs will ultimately work            building their own DAW
• Creator hubs            build out from narrow starting            to fully fledged propositions through            successive series of partner-buy-build phases
• Two key            models will emerge: market aggregators            contained ecosystems. Both approaches will            hubs become increasingly powerful as            curators, similar to the roles            mobile app stores
• Landr, Spotify,            Audio, Loopcloud and Splice are            key examples of current creator            while Francisco Partner’s investments in            Instruments and iZotope could be            basis for a further one

Companies and brands mentioned in this report: Ableton Live, Arturia, Auxy, Cubase, FL Studio, GarageBand, IK Multimedia, iZotope, Landr, Logic Pro, Loopcloud, Native Instruments, Pro Tools, Soundbetter, Soundtrap, Splice, Spotify, Universal Audio