Abstract
M.Com. (Business Management)
Globally, the music industry has undergone significant changes in the last two decades, changes such as adapting from physical to digital, from downloads to streaming, and from ownership to access (Jennings and Wartella, 2013:448). South Africans are becoming increasingly technologically savvy and are seen to manoeuvre easily between mobile phones and online services (Finweek, 2013:24). The internet has developed a digital economy (of online or virtual businesses and transactions) as seen with the emergence of Online Music Stores (OMS) such as iTunes, Google Play, Spotify and Deezer, all of which facilitate the legal distribution as well as the legal sales of online music (Martins, 2013:2). These disruptive technology services (such as music streaming and subscription services and the downloading of media content) are forcing the music industry to explore different methods to leverage the digital world (Kabanda, 2016:2).
The study is exploratory by nature and followed the deductive reasoning approach and qualitative research techniques. In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted as the main data collection tool, field notes were taken during the interviews, and the interviews were also audio-recorded and transcribed. Key music company executives from different recording labels in Gauteng were the target population, and qualitative content analysis was used to interpret the data.
The researchers own compilation of the Digital Music Sales Hindrances (DMSH) model, proposed that the value gap, music piracy and sustained listening are key hindrances in South African digital music sales. The study revealed that the value gap is influenced by OMS’s, increased music consumption, decreased profits and stakeholder remuneration; music piracy is influenced by the high data costs and the extreme digital divide in South Africa; and sustained listening is influenced by creating more unique services and innovative campaign generation. The study proved the DMSH model to be valid.
The primary objective of the study was to find out the hindrances of digital music sales in South Africa, from the perspective of recording labels in Gauteng.