Streaming Impact Yet To Be Seen Says Rdio CEO

While streaming services have been a huge topic of discussion in the local industry over the last twelve months, the impact of these services has yet to be seen, according to Rdio Head of Territory for Australia and New Zealand Colin Blake.

"It is very early days and I think it is a very exciting space that is generating a lot of interest but I don't feel that we could say that there has been any kind of impact," admitted Blake in a recent interview with theMusic.com.au ahead of his participation in this week's inaugural TILT (Tomorrow's Ideas Leading Today) forum in Sydney.

That sentiment of interest and excitement is something that Deezer Managing Director and fellow TILT speaker Thomas Heymann also agrees with and more importantly, he believes streaming services have created a better relationship between artists and fans.

"We are reconnecting artists with the fans they have lost through piracy. We make the relationship social and global again," said Heymann.

A lot of talk regarding streaming has been whether these services will actually benefit artists at all, but Heymann believes chatter should not be focused on the negatives when the issue of piracy is still the biggest threat to the industry.

"What is damaging the industry for more than a decade now is piracy and unlicensed music services, that don't put a cent back into the industry," he explained. "Streaming services are highly competitive, which is good for the artists and the fans. The last thing this industry needs is another digital music monopoly by any service."

Blake agreed, stating that streaming will survive and provide great advantages to the music scene because of its product uniqueness.

"Purely talking as a music lover…there really is nothing like it. Once you get into the choice, the sharing capability, the ability to access so much great music at any time anywhere, it is hard to imagine not having it. I would be lost!" he added.

"Growth of this technology will be driven by consumer input. This will all turn into amazing opportunity for the local industry as it will become easier and easier to emerging local artists to utilise the platform for exposure which leads to revenue which creates industry growth."

Both Blake and Heymann will speak at TILT, which takes place at the Australian Institute of Music in Sydney this Friday 5 July. The forum will feature a number of other industry experts, as well as a keynote address from former Federal Minister Peter Garrett, who will still speak, despite his recent resignation from the position in the wake of last week's leadership spill.