Welcome to the post-feature world

During the first two decades of the 21st century, companies in most industries competed on features and user interface. Snapchat was once the only social app with Stories, and the iPhone used to sit alongside the Motorola Razr and T-Mobile Sidekick. But somewhere along the line, product diversity began to disappear. Today, every smartphone looks the same. All the major social platforms offer roughly the same mix of features (direct messaging, photos, videos, and Stories). Now, even Spotify has started to borrow some of those features (per The Verge), and all the major music streaming platforms already have a similar user experience, interface, and catalogue.

This trend is taking shape in the artist services market as well. It is most prominent in the realm of music distribution, where commodification of the core service has pushed companies to add features like music mastering and marketing tools. But now, most music distribution companies offer a similar mix of services — the same stuff offered by major labels, which are starting to look more like distributors. Meanwhile, music creation companies are expanding across the value chain, with BandLab offering distribution and marketing. We are officially in a post-feature landscape, and a highly competitive one at that. 

Competing on vibes

In the post-feature world, how people use and interpret the thing — platform, product, or otherwise — is what matters, more than how the thing actually operates. Think about how Western millennials and Gen Z have developed a stigma towards green text bubbles, one of the only visible differences between iPhone and Android. Social platforms have major overlap in users, despite all offering the same features, because each social platform has developed its own cultural context. Swiping between TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts is like floating through different parties in the same building — each with the same setup of drinks, speaker system, and snacks, but a totally different vibe.

The remaining chess pieces

Data from MIDiA’s music creator survey shows that among the new generation of music creators, the top choice of ideal partner is a label service deal with a distributor. The good news is that there is an unending flow of valuable features now available to them at a range of price points. But the artist services market is highly fragmented as a result. Not only is it hard for companies to compete, but the landscape has become confusing and frustrating for artists to navigate. According to our survey, creators end up choosing a distributor mainly based on price and familiarity.

Only a few real differentiators remain: brand reputation, a human touch, execution / quality of service, and exclusive access to tools and opportunities. (As the saying goes, “do not worry about someone stealing your idea — worry about them stealing your execution”.) These differentiators are the final pieces on the chessboard, ironically forcing labels and artist service companies to go back to basics. When labels first began using data to sign artists years ago, some executives predicted that once everyone had access to the same tools, record labels would return to signing artists based on gut. We are not exactly there, but the people behind these companies are becoming more important than their tech stacks — an ironic turn in this year’s technology-dominated news cycle.

For more trends in the needs of today’s creators, read MIDiA’s latest report, “Music creator survey | Recalibration”, and look out for more analysis to come on the future of artist services.