Sony: music streaming isn't killing song sales

Sony: music streaming isn't killing song sales
Just giving it a bit of a beating

The head of digital for Sony Music has revealed that the label hasn't seen any cannibalisation of music sales with the introduction of streaming services, but it is keeping a close eye on the figures.

Speaking at a Sony Entertainment Network roundtable, Sony Music's president of global digital business and US sales Dennis Kooker, outlined his thoughts on music streaming and believed that Sony's own figures show that streaming isn't having a detrimental affect on sales.

"We are constantly watching our business very closely and looking at how different channels are affecting and impacting each other," Kooker noted.

"At this point we don't see any evidence that any one area is significantly cannibalistic to any other. Is there substitution? There is always going to be some as people move around and have choice. At this point there is no evidence that any one model is seriously damaging any other model."

Unlimted choice

Sony is pushing its own streaming proposition, Music Unlimited, so it makes sense that it would be positive about this business model and it seems that subscription-based music offerings will be the ones that win out in the end.

"Ultimately, what we see is that our business is growing in the areas where subscription services are the predominant player in the market," Kooker explained.

"As a result we're very convinced that consumers ultimately want to experience music in different ways. Sometimes they want to own, other times they want to experience and listen. As a result of that consumer behaviour, we are looking at growing the business overall."

At the event Sony outlined how important Music Unlimited was to its business going forward, explaining that it's "a very big deal for the company".

There you have it: Music Unlimited is the Ron Burgundy of the streaming world.

Via Music Ally

Marc Chacksfield

Marc Chacksfield is the Editor In Chief, Shortlist.com at DC Thomson. He started out life as a movie writer for numerous (now defunct) magazines and soon found himself online - editing a gaggle of gadget sites, including TechRadar, Digital Camera World and Tom's Guide UK. At Shortlist you'll find him mostly writing about movies and tech, so no change there then.