Music Distribution and Income: A Survey
Key findings from research conducted into how Victorian contemporary musicians format, distribute and sell their music in 2010 are summarised below. Results of the same survey from the previous year are also included:
- 85% of survey respondents have released music on CD and the majority (87%) sell them at live performances - a significant increase from 60% of musicians who sold CD's at live performances in 2009;
- 73% (74% in 2009) identified ‘live performance’ as their primary source of income from music activities;
- 57% distribute their music digitally, compared to 48% in 2009;
- 67% of respondents believe that digital distribution will be the most effective method of music distribution in the future, a small increase from 64% in 2009;
- The focus group and the survey revealed a lack of knowledge of distribution methods and insufficient funds are common issues for most artists when it comes to distributing music.
The research was conducted by students of the Bachelor of Applied Business in Music Industry at Box Hill Institute, in association with Arts Victoria in April 2010. The research included an online survey that generated 100 responses and a focus group with musicians representing a wide variety of genres.
View the full summary of the 2010 research here, or download it as a PDF (242kb).