How will the music industry adapt to the new, new normal as lockdown eases?
Since the start of lockdown, the Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre has run a Digital Culture Consumer Tracking Study with the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) to follow the entertainment consumption of the British people. It has provided some interesting results for all but includes some that may help the music industry plan for the future.
Music was second only to television as the culture of choice during the six weeks of the lockdown study with the average time spent playing computer games reducing from three hours to two hours per day.
However, once restrictions eased in week seven, there was a clear shift from streaming music to downloading, largely from subscription sites. The report suggests this was probably because people were leaving their homes more often and wanted off-line content, but it tallies with an increase in physical purchasing of music, more than any other medium. In fact, music consumption via all systems stayed high once lockdown eased, while film and television dropped back.
