Live music is massive right now and it’s only going to get bigger as music streaming creates the perfect environment for live concerts to thrive and grow.

Live music has been booming more than ever in the past 10 years and it’s only going to keep getting bigger. The annual entertainment review by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) shows that with the current growth trends of live music will see the industry surpass $30 billion worldwide for the first time ever by the year 2022. That’s 3.3% of steady growth from now for 4 years.

Live music is finding itself in symbiosis with the boom of music streaming as music quickly becomes primarily a digital platform – except for the vinyl revival. As music streaming becomes the format of choice for listeners around the world, listeners are discovering more music than ever and investing in artists they may have never heard without the unlimited availability of streaming services. Music streaming is predicted to gain even more significant growth over the next four years with the same report predicting 18% of growth from now to 2022.

The collective power of live music and music streaming services makes for an important partnership as the physical music industry sees it’s sales dwindle. CD sales and digital downloads have plummeted in recent years as consumers move to streaming services for their audio fix.

Music ownership is becoming less valuable as availability becomes priority, but with that comes smaller revenue sales for artists and labels. But this shift in the industry isn’t a bad thing as live music becomes more valuable and concerts become much more profitable for artists, especially with new listeners discovering their music all the time thanks to the openness of streaming services.

As well music is becoming more independent, as the necessity for labels and publishers who can print and publish records/CDs is no longer crucial and the opportunities for artists to release their music worldwide on their own terms become better and better. For example at RouteNote we offer free music distribution to all of the world’s top streaming services and download stores. Artists maintain complete control over their music and get to send their music out for the world to hear.

It’s an exciting time and a very transformative time for the music industry and artists in particular. PwC US’ global advisory leader for entertainment and media, Christopher Vollmer says of the report’s findings: “To succeed in the future that’s taking shape, companies must revisit every aspect of what they do and how they do it. This means going above and beyond in how they envision their business, generate revenues, create and organise their capabilities, and build and retain trust. And, given the pace and scale of change under way, speed is vital.”