Power 50 - #10: Rachel Newman

BACKGROUND CHECK

After three years as Program Director at XYZ Networks, Rachel Newman joined Apple in 2009 as iTunes Australia/NZ Manager, Music. In 2011, she was promoted to General Manager – iTunes, App Store & iBookstore Australia/NZ and the end of last year she became Global Director Of Editorial, Apple Music.

THE YEAR THAT WAS

It's now widely accepted that streaming services help to open doors for artists to more readily experience global success. Statistics also prove that streaming continues to accelerate revenue in the recorded music sector. According to the 2018 Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) mid-year figures, recording revenue was up 6.04%. Income from subscription services – such as Apple Music, Spotify and Google Play – totalled $10.99 million (up 35.1%) with video streaming amounting to $14.6 million (up 41.11%). There was also a reported 31.86% jump in ad-supported streaming while subscription sales were up 35.1% from the January to June period of last year.

Back in 2016, streaming revenue accounted for 38% of ARIA's sales. With streaming now accounting for 67% of ARIA’s sales (up from 54% in 2017), this uptake of streaming services by Australian consumers has become the main driver for recorded music's continued growth in this country.

As Apple Music's Australian leader, Newman maintained the company's strong ties to the Australian music industry in 2018. Continuing to present the Apple Music Song Of The Year category at the ARIA Awards, a new voting option was also introduced for Apple Music subscribers. To vote, subscribers were encouraged to stream at least 30 seconds of their favourite song on the Apple Music Song Of The Year playlist – which featured all ten of the ARIA-nominated tracks – with a limit of one stream per day. Newman's company stepped up their partnership in 2018 as well, with the annual award ceremony officially branded as The 2018 ARIA Awards with Apple Music.

In September of last year, Apple Music also introduced an all-new Top 100 playlist series, which allows subscribers to access the most-played songs in each country (Australia included) via playlists that are updated daily based on Apple Music streams. The following month, Sounds Australia became global curators on Apple Music in an effort to gain better visibility for our local artists on this worldwide platform. As well as Sounds Australia Selects – a monthly playlist featuring new releases from artists who have showcased with the organisation in the past ten years – specific playlists will also be curated by Sounds Australia to introduce Australian artists who are showcasing at international music conferences such as SXSW and The Great Escape.

Further expansion of Apple Music in 2018 also saw Qantas adding free limited access to the streaming service as part of their commitment to improving in-flight entertainment. 

As both a music and video streaming service, Apple Music's competitors include the streaming behemoth that is Spotify as well as the video-sharing website YouTube. Under the guidance of Newman, we have no doubt that Apple will continue to innovate, improving the individual user experience while fostering the brand's sense of community.