DIY musicians released 9.5M tracks last year, 8X more than major labels

D.I.Y. musicians released more than 9.5 million tracks globally in 2020, a number more than 8 times the 1.1 million tracks released by the major labels.

“As lockdown took hold, major labels released 1.2M songs in 2020; DIY artists released a staggering 9.5m. That’s an 8 to 1 ratio of artists,” wrote former Spotify chief economist Will Page in a new Financial Times piece.

As Music Ally pointed out, those numbers don’t even include independent label output.

“…. [Everyone] should be watching this industry as a living demonstration of what happens when barriers to entry fall,” continued Page. “The pie definitely grows, but the number of creators wanting a piece of it grows even faster.”

Read more of Page’s industry analysis in his recent submission to the UK’s music streaming economics inquiry [pdf].