2021 & The Year Ahead
2021 Year End Review
&
A Look at 2022
Edvard Munch’s ‘The Scream’ (The National Gallery, Oslo)
It's been a long time comin',
It's been a long time gone.
But you know, the darkest hour,
Is always just before the dawn.
And it appears to be a long time,
Such a long, long, long time before the dawn.
—David Crosby
It’s been a perpetual Ground Hog Day nightmare for several years now. We continue to wake up each day to more gloom and doom concerning the COVID crisis, which has now claimed more than 5 million lives worldwide, with nearly 300 million cases reported thus far. It has not only destroyed so many lives…it has also decimated peoples’ livelihoods. This is particularly evident in the hospitality and entertainment industry. According to a study by Help Musicians UK, 9 out of 10 musicians say their mental health has deteriorated during the pandemic. If that wasn’t enough, the repercussions from BREXIT continue to inflict relentless pain on the UK music industry, with 76% of UK musicians claiming it’s likely that BREXIT will stop them from performing in Europe.
However, there have been some green shoots evident in all of this.
Despite the pandemic, the global recorded music industry grew by $1.5 billion in Full Year 2020, up +7.4% versus the previous year, and the trend continues.
In the US alone, streaming racked up more than $10 billion in revenue. Spotify is now valued at $67 billion, and over 60,000 tracks (one per second) are uploaded onto the platform each day. However, a number of regulatory bodies, including the British Parliamentary Committee, are calling for a complete reset of streaming music economics in order to help musicians earn a fair return on their creative output. Time will tell.
Once again, in spite of the plethora of obstacles that continue to prevent a return to what we refer to as ‘business as usual’, Ubuntu Music was yet again exceedingly fortunate in successfully navigating through these turbulent waters and pursuing a business and marketing strategy that recognised the reality of the situation and delivered exceptional results. In fact, the best results were the best in the Company’s short history.
In 2021, Ubuntu Music released 27 releases from an exceedingly broad roster of exceptionally talented Artists, from a range of influences and geographies. The consistent DNA that runs through the blood of each of these wonderfully gifted individuals is the quality of their music and the strength of their character as musicians who are unwaveringly dedicated to their craft.
A few of the major highlights for the Artists and the Label are summarised below: