MIDiA Research Independent Label Survey 2020

MIDiA Research is conducting a global survey of the independent record label sector. We regularly conduct similar surveys and have done so for many years. As with all our previous surveys, all responses will be treated as strictly confidential. No individual responses will ever be shared. Instead, all responses will be aggregated into national and international numbers. The respondent level data will be stored securely, encrypted in an offline location and will never be shared with any third party.

We are conducting this survey to provide the independent sector with an accurate view of its market share, which is under represented elsewhere. Therefore, we will be providing a full summary of the final, aggregated results to all independent labels and distributors that participate in this survey.

If you wish to receive the survey then please share your email address below. We will not use this for any other purposes unless you specifically request to be added to MIDiA's research digest.

If you have any questions regarding this survey, please email info@midiaresearch.com with the subject header "Independent Label Survey".

Thank you for taking part.

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* 1. What is the name of your company?

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* 2. In which country is your company headquartered?

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* 3. What type of company is it? (select all that apply)

Record label

Distributor

Music publisher

Agency

I am a self-releasing artist

Other (please specify)

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* 4. If you would like to receive a full summary of the aggregated results please add your email here

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* 5. If you would also like to be added to MIDiA's free, weekly research digest email please add your email here

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* 6. How many years has your company been operating?

Less than 12 months

Between 1 - 3 years

Between 3 - 5 years

Between 5 - 10 years

Between 10 - 20 years

More than 20 years

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* 7. How many people do you employ full and part time?

1-10 staff

10-50 staff

50 - 100 staff

100-1000 staff

More than 1000 staff

Other (please specify)

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* 8. Which of the following statements describe your company's experiences during 2020 as a result of COVID-19 and the economy? (select all that apply)

Revenues were down in the first few months of the pandemic but picked up again

Revenues have remained dampened through 2020

We had to reduce the size of our artist roster

We had to reduce the number of staff

Our revenues grew strongly throughout 2020

We grew our artist roster during 2020

We grew our team size during 2020

I'll be glad when 2020 is over!

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* 9. On balance, how do you feel about your business going into 2021? (select one)

Very confident

Somewhat confident

Neutral

A little cautious

Very cautious

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* 10. What are the top three priorities for your business in 2021?

Expanding into new revenue streams

Signing more artists to increase our volumes

Focusing on fewer artists and working harder on these

Expanding into new markets around the world

Helping artists with live performance and touring

Being smarter about our marketing

Focusing on making the competitive landscape fairer for indies compared with majors

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* 11. Thinking about the evolution of streaming music, which of the following statements describes your views? (select all that apply)

It is becoming harder to predict what will be successful

It is becoming harder to forecast what revenue a release will generate

We are having to release more music to maintain market share

Streaming is helping our company gain market share

It is becoming harder to build the career of an artist because the market is becoming dominated by song volume

Streaming is a broken business model that needs to change

Streaming is working for us and our artists but we need something more in parallel

Other (please specify)

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* 12. Roughly what share of your company's revenue do you spend on marketing?

Less than 5%

5%-10%

11%-20%

21%-30%

More than 30%

Revenue and sales

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* 13. Roughly how many songs does your company have in its catalogue?

<1,000

1,001-5,5000

5,001-10,000

10,001-30,000

30,001-50,000

50,001-100,000

100,001-500,000

More than 500,000

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* 14. Approximately how many new release album/EP projects did you have in 2020 (count albums and EPs only)?

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* 15. During 2020, as a share of your total revenue, how has the share of releases that are more than two years old performed?

Increased

Stayed the same

Decreased

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* 16. Year-to-date, what was the annual turnover of your company in 2020 (the total income generated by your label or distribution business)? (select one)

<$50,000

$50,000-$100,000

$101,000-$500,000

$500,000-$1m

$1m - $3m

$3m-$5m

$5m-$10m

$10m-$20m

$20m-$30m

More than $30m

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* 17. When 2020 is finished, how do you expect your full year turnover to be compared to 2019? (i.e. total revenues in 2019)?

Decrease by more than 10%

Decrease by between 6% and 10%

Decrease by up to 5%

Remain the same

Increase by up to 5%

Increase by 6% and 10%

Increase between 11% and 20%

Increase between 21% and 30%

Increase by more than 30%

Double or greater

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* 18. Roughly what share of your revenue comes from overseas?

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* 19. Roughly what share of your 2020 revenue came from each of the following formats? (sliding scale % for each)

	0%	5%	10%	20%	30%	40%	50%	60%	70%	80%	90%	100%
Streaming (not including YouTube)	Streaming (not including YouTube) 0%	Streaming (not including YouTube) 5%	Streaming (not including YouTube) 10%	Streaming (not including YouTube) 20%	Streaming (not including YouTube) 30%	Streaming (not including YouTube) 40%	Streaming (not including YouTube) 50%	Streaming (not including YouTube) 60%	Streaming (not including YouTube) 70%	Streaming (not including YouTube) 80%	Streaming (not including YouTube) 90%	Streaming (not including YouTube) 100%
YouTube	YouTube 0%	YouTube 5%	YouTube 10%	YouTube 20%	YouTube 30%	YouTube 40%	YouTube 50%	YouTube 60%	YouTube 70%	YouTube 80%	YouTube 90%	YouTube 100%
Downloads and other digital	Downloads and other digital 0%	Downloads and other digital 5%	Downloads and other digital 10%	Downloads and other digital 20%	Downloads and other digital 30%	Downloads and other digital 40%	Downloads and other digital 50%	Downloads and other digital 60%	Downloads and other digital 70%	Downloads and other digital 80%	Downloads and other digital 90%	Downloads and other digital 100%
Physical sales (CD, vinyl etc)	Physical sales (CD, vinyl etc) 0%	Physical sales (CD, vinyl etc) 5%	Physical sales (CD, vinyl etc) 10%	Physical sales (CD, vinyl etc) 20%	Physical sales (CD, vinyl etc) 30%	Physical sales (CD, vinyl etc) 40%	Physical sales (CD, vinyl etc) 50%	Physical sales (CD, vinyl etc) 60%	Physical sales (CD, vinyl etc) 70%	Physical sales (CD, vinyl etc) 80%	Physical sales (CD, vinyl etc) 90%	Physical sales (CD, vinyl etc) 100%
Performing rights	Performing rights 0%	Performing rights 5%	Performing rights 10%	Performing rights 20%	Performing rights 30%	Performing rights 40%	Performing rights 50%	Performing rights 60%	Performing rights 70%	Performing rights 80%	Performing rights 90%	Performing rights 100%
Neighbouring rights	Neighbouring rights 0%	Neighbouring rights 5%	Neighbouring rights 10%	Neighbouring rights 20%	Neighbouring rights 30%	Neighbouring rights 40%	Neighbouring rights 50%	Neighbouring rights 60%	Neighbouring rights 70%	Neighbouring rights 80%	Neighbouring rights 90%	Neighbouring rights 100%
OTHER (PLEASE STATE IN COMMENTS)	OTHER (PLEASE STATE IN COMMENTS) 0%	OTHER (PLEASE STATE IN COMMENTS) 5%	OTHER (PLEASE STATE IN COMMENTS) 10%	OTHER (PLEASE STATE IN COMMENTS) 20%	OTHER (PLEASE STATE IN COMMENTS) 30%	OTHER (PLEASE STATE IN COMMENTS) 40%	OTHER (PLEASE STATE IN COMMENTS) 50%	OTHER (PLEASE STATE IN COMMENTS) 60%	OTHER (PLEASE STATE IN COMMENTS) 70%	OTHER (PLEASE STATE IN COMMENTS) 80%	OTHER (PLEASE STATE IN COMMENTS) 90%	OTHER (PLEASE STATE IN COMMENTS) 100%

Other (please specify the Other format)

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* 20. Within streaming music revenue, roughly what share of your revenue comes from each of the following streaming services?

	0%	5%	10%	20%	30%	40%	50%	60%	70%	80%	90%	100%
YouTube	YouTube 0%	YouTube 5%	YouTube 10%	YouTube 20%	YouTube 30%	YouTube 40%	YouTube 50%	YouTube 60%	YouTube 70%	YouTube 80%	YouTube 90%	YouTube 100%
Spotify	Spotify 0%	Spotify 5%	Spotify 10%	Spotify 20%	Spotify 30%	Spotify 40%	Spotify 50%	Spotify 60%	Spotify 70%	Spotify 80%	Spotify 90%	Spotify 100%
Amazon	Amazon 0%	Amazon 5%	Amazon 10%	Amazon 20%	Amazon 30%	Amazon 40%	Amazon 50%	Amazon 60%	Amazon 70%	Amazon 80%	Amazon 90%	Amazon 100%
Apple Music	Apple Music 0%	Apple Music 5%	Apple Music 10%	Apple Music 20%	Apple Music 30%	Apple Music 40%	Apple Music 50%	Apple Music 60%	Apple Music 70%	Apple Music 80%	Apple Music 90%	Apple Music 100%
Deezer	Deezer 0%	Deezer 5%	Deezer 10%	Deezer 20%	Deezer 30%	Deezer 40%	Deezer 50%	Deezer 60%	Deezer 70%	Deezer 80%	Deezer 90%	Deezer 100%
Tencent	Tencent 0%	Tencent 5%	Tencent 10%	Tencent 20%	Tencent 30%	Tencent 40%	Tencent 50%	Tencent 60%	Tencent 70%	Tencent 80%	Tencent 90%	Tencent 100%
Pandora	Pandora 0%	Pandora 5%	Pandora 10%	Pandora 20%	Pandora 30%	Pandora 40%	Pandora 50%	Pandora 60%	Pandora 70%	Pandora 80%	Pandora 90%	Pandora 100%
Other	Other 0%	Other 5%	Other 10%	Other 20%	Other 30%	Other 40%	Other 50%	Other 60%	Other 70%	Other 80%	Other 90%	Other 100%

Other (please specify the other services)

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* 21. Which of the following distributors do you use to license or distribute your music?

	Domestic	Overseas
Absolute	Absolute Domestic	Absolute Overseas
ADA	ADA Domestic	ADA Overseas
Africori Digital	Africori Digital Domestic	Africori Digital Overseas
AMPED	AMPED Domestic	AMPED Overseas
Amuse	Amuse Domestic	Amuse Overseas
AWAL	AWAL Domestic	AWAL Overseas
Believe Digital	Believe Digital Domestic	Believe Digital Overseas
Caroline	Caroline Domestic	Caroline Overseas
CD Baby	CD Baby Domestic	CD Baby Overseas
Consolidated Independent	Consolidated Independent Domestic	Consolidated Independent Overseas
DistroKid	DistroKid Domestic	DistroKid Overseas
Ditto	Ditto Domestic	Ditto Overseas
Entertainment One	Entertainment One Domestic	Entertainment One Overseas
INgrooves	INgrooves Domestic	INgrooves Overseas
Kontor New Media	Kontor New Media Domestic	Kontor New Media Overseas
OneRPM	OneRPM Domestic	OneRPM Overseas
Phonofile	Phonofile Domestic	Phonofile Overseas
PIAS	PIAS Domestic	PIAS Overseas
Proper	Proper Domestic	Proper Overseas
Secretly Distribution	Secretly Distribution Domestic	Secretly Distribution Overseas
Sony Music	Sony Music Domestic	Sony Music Overseas
Space Shower Network	Space Shower Network Domestic	Space Shower Network Overseas
Symphonic	Symphonic Domestic	Symphonic Overseas
The Orchard	The Orchard Domestic	The Orchard Overseas
Tunecore	Tunecore Domestic	Tunecore Overseas
UMG	UMG Domestic	UMG Overseas
United Masters	United Masters Domestic	United Masters Overseas
WMG	WMG Domestic	WMG Overseas
Other	Other Domestic	Other Overseas
Do not use a distributor	Do not use a distributor Domestic	Do not use a distributor Overseas

Other (please specify which other distributors)

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* 22. Please state roughly what share of the revenue you earned in 2020 was distributed by third-party labels and distributors in your home territory (INSERT %)

MIDiA Research Independent Label Survey 2020

Question Title

* 1. What is the name of your company?

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* 2. In which country is your company headquartered?

Question Title

* 3. What type of company is it? (select all that apply)

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* 4. If you would like to receive a full summary of the aggregated results please add your email here

Question Title

* 5. If you would also like to be added to MIDiA's free, weekly research digest email please add your email here

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* 6. How many years has your company been operating?

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* 7. How many people do you employ full and part time?

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* 8. Which of the following statements describe your company's experiences during 2020 as a result of COVID-19 and the economy? (select all that apply)

Question Title

* 9. On balance, how do you feel about your business going into 2021? (select one)

Question Title

* 10. What are the top three priorities for your business in 2021?

Question Title

* 11. Thinking about the evolution of streaming music, which of the following statements describes your views? (select all that apply)

Question Title

* 12. Roughly what share of your company's revenue do you spend on marketing?

Question Title

* 13. Roughly how many songs does your company have in its catalogue?

Question Title

* 14. Approximately how many new release album/EP projects did you have in 2020 (count albums and EPs only)?

Question Title

* 15. During 2020, as a share of your total revenue, how has the share of releases that are more than two years old performed?

Question Title

* 16. Year-to-date, what was the annual turnover of your company in 2020 (the total income generated by your label or distribution business)? (select one)

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* 17. When 2020 is finished, how do you expect your full year turnover to be compared to 2019? (i.e. total revenues in 2019)?

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* 18. Roughly what share of your revenue comes from overseas?

Question Title

* 19. Roughly what share of your 2020 revenue came from each of the following formats? (sliding scale % for each)

Question Title

* 20. Within streaming music revenue, roughly what share of your revenue comes from each of the following streaming services?

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* 21. Which of the following distributors do you use to license or distribute your music?

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* 22. Please state roughly what share of the revenue you earned in 2020 was distributed by third-party labels and distributors in your home territory (INSERT %)

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* 23. Please state roughly what share of the revenue you earned in 2020 was distributed by third-party labels and distributors overseas (INSERT %)

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* 24. Finally, on average, what share of your revenue do you pay to distributors (INSERT %)