Daily Archives: March 21, 2021

Can you be scientific and spiritual? – Big Think

Posted: March 21, 2021 at 5:07 pm

The tension between science and religion is old news to us moderns. Historical events like the Catholic Church's trial of Galileo or the Scopes Monkey Trial over teaching Darwin in schools, seem to imply that religion and science are incompatible. More recently, writers like Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett, and other 'New Atheists' have been vigorous in their condemnation of the anti-scientific bias of religious fundamentalism. But if we take a broader view beyond these fundamentalisms, if we ask about the human inclination towards spiritual practice in general, do we still have to find the same antagonism? The answer, I think, is a definitive "No." And that answer is important as we consider the totality of what it means to be human.

First, it's important to distinguish between religion and what I'll call spiritual practice. In his excellent book "Sapiens," Yuval Noah Harari defines religion as "a system of human norms and values that is founded in the belief in a superhuman order." There are two parts of this definition that are important for our discussion. First is the "system of human norms." That phrase points to a lot of stuff, but it also means politics. There is an aspect of organized religion that has always been about establishing and enforcing social norms: Who is an authority; who justifies who is in charge; who marries whom; who tells you how to behave. This aspect of religion is about power within social hierarchies.

The second part of Harari's definition refers to a "superhuman order." Note that he does not say a "supernatural" order. Why? Because some religions like Buddhism don't pivot around the existence of an all-powerful deity. This distinction is important because it allows you to see a point many scholars of religion have made after looking at the long human history of what I'll call spiritual endeavor. From our beginnings as hunter-gathers, we have always been responding to a sense of a "superhuman order." That response has taken many different forms from beautiful paintings on cave walls to beautiful paintings on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.

In my first book, I looked in depth at this response, its history, and its relation to science. Even though I consider myself an atheist, experiences of a superhuman order have been with me since I was a kid. Heck, that's what science was to mean order expressible in mathematics beyond the purely human. In fact, many of my deepest experiences of being alive had come to me through my scientific practice. Working through some line of mathematical reasoning or encountering some image of a nebula or galaxy, I'd get thrust into an overwhelming sense of the universe's presence, of its perfect unity and wholeness. At first, I saw the laws of physics as the source of that order but as I got older my focus widened.

Now, one could say that my experiences were "just awe" and nothing more. But as the great scholar of religion, Rudolph Otto noted, awe is the essential component of a spiritual experience. It is an encounter with what other scholars have called "sacredness."

So, what are we to make of these words "spiritual" and "sacred"? Some strident atheists recoil at these terms because they believe they must entail a belief in supernatural entities. This is a mistake. Both can point to something much broader. Rather than ontological claims about what exists in the universe, spiritual and sacred can describe the character of an experience. Instead of a "thing", they can refer to an attitude or an approach. This is the central point William James made in his masterwork "The Varieties of Religious Experience." To speak about sacredness is to understand that some experiences (the birth of your child, coming upon a silent forest glade, hearing a powerful symphony) evoke an order that is more than just our thoughts about that order. And to speak of "the spiritual" can call to the highest aspects of the human spirit: compassion, kindness, empathy, generosity, love.

This kind of understanding of spiritual and sacred have always been with us and they may, or may not, have anything to do with a particular religion. This is where we can draw a distinction between a spiritual practice and a religious one. In a spiritual practice, people purposely attempt to deepen their lived sense of the superhuman order they experience. It is, literally, a practice. You work on it every day, perhaps using meditation or ritual or service to others. The methods differ but the daily application and aspiration are the same.

The important point is that spiritual practice has a purpose: transformation. It is to become a person who lives in accord with that sense of experienced order, that sacredness. Such a lifelong aspiration and effort can happen within an individual religious tradition if there are domains within that tradition that truly support this kind of interior work. Unfortunately, the politics of religion can sometimes keep this from happening. As scholars Joseph Campbell, Walter Houston Clark, and others have said, church can be a "vaccination" against the real thing.

It's also possible to build such a practice outside of established religious tradition. In that case, the difficulty comes in inventing forms that can support a lifelong practice. There is something to be said for traditions or rituals that have endured for many generations and the best of these often occur within some religious traditions.

The bottom line is human beings have felt the need for spiritual practice for a long, long time. That means that even as participation in traditional religions drops, people claiming to be "spiritual but not religious" and people who embrace science continue to grow. The writer Annika Harris and her spouse New Atheist Sam Harris are, for example, strong defenders of science. They have also both written about the importance of contemplative practice in their lives.

I have long argued that science is one way that the aspiration to know the true and the real is expressed. It is one way we express that sense of an order beyond us. But there are other ways that go beyond descriptions and explanation, and all of them make up the totality of being human. That means you can embrace science in all its power and still embed it within the larger context of human experience. All of us can be entirely faithful to the path of inquiry and honesty that is science while making it one aspect of a practice meant to embrace the fullness of your experience as a human in this more-than-human world.

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Kangana Ranaut to user who questioned her atheism: My grandfather engraved it in my mind – Republic TV

Posted: at 5:06 pm

ActorKangana Ranaut on Saturday morning responded to a Twitter user who asked her about how she understood the concept of atheism while she was young. In a series of tweets, shewrote about growing up as an atheist and then credited her grandfather for the same. The user's tweet read, "Growing up?? How did you know you were an atheist when you were a child?". As soon as theManikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi actor stumbled upon this tweet, she remarked that hergrandfather was an atheist and that he 'engraved the concept'in hermind.

Kangana added that her grandfatherwas a highly educated and successful person and that he was a man of sharp intellect. More so,he debated with many against God and religion andencouraged people to take up science, mentioned the actor in her tweet. She continued that hesomehowseparated God and Science.

In another thread, Kangana opined her views on the concept of 'Kundalini'. She wrote thatKundalini was one of the reasons why shewas intrigued by Hinduism. More so, she detailed that while she was growing up as an atheist, she was studying science and Hinduism as itoffers practical reason for all its theories. She added, "That gave me the courage to do experiments with various science of 4 Yogas I used Vivekanandas methods."

Kangana Ranaut has time and again, mentioned in interviews that she's a staunch believerofSwami Vivekananda's teachings, the Gita, the Sanatan Dharmaand quantum physics. The actorshared a post about her 'guru' Swami Vivekananda on the occasion of National Youth Day this year. She remarked that the ideals of the great philosopher gave her purpose when she had no hope. She added that Swami gave her a purpose to live when she was disillusioned by the world.

On the work front, Kangana will be seen in theupcoming movie,Dhaakad,alongside Arjun Rampal. The movie is directed byRazneesh Razy Ghai, who has alsoco-written the film with Chintan Gandhi and Rinish Ravindra.Ranaut also has another movie titled Tejas in the pipeline.Kangana completed thefilming of the samein Bikaner, Rajasthan, andshared a glimpse from the sets on March 19.

Get the latest entertainment news from India & around the world. Now follow your favourite television celebs and telly updates. Republic World is your one-stop destination for trending Bollywood news. Tune in today to stay updated with all the latest news and headlines from the world of entertainment.

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Kangana Ranaut Reacts To A Twitter User Who Questioned Her For Claiming She Was An Atheist As A Kid; Tweets A Perfect Explanation – SpotboyE

Posted: at 5:06 pm

Kangana Ranaut is one of the most-talked celebrities of Bollywood. She is an active social media user. The Queen actress always speaks her mind and often gets trolled by many for various reasons. Earlier today, Kangana took to her Twitter page and shared her take on Hinduism. The actress mentioned that growing up she was an atheist. Kangana's tweet read, "Nicely explained, growing up I was an atheist, was studying science, Kundalini was one of the reasons why I was intrigued by Hinduism. Hinduism offers practical for all its theories that gave me courage to do experiments with various science of 4 Yogas I used Vivekananda's methods."

One Twitter user reacted to her Tweet and questioned her as to how she knew that she was an atheist when she was growing up. The Queen actress replied to him saying, "My grandfather was an atheist he engraved the concept in my mind, he was highly educated and successful person, a man of sharp intellect he debated with many against God and religion."

The Tanu Weds Manu actress further added that her grandfather encouraged people to take up science and somehow he separated the two, God and Science.

On the work from, Kangana Ranaut has interesting projects in her kitty. The beautiful actress will be seen in Thalaivi. She also has Tejas and Dhakaad. She keeps her fans updated about her upcoming projects on social media who are eagerly looking forward to her films. With hardwork and talent, Kangana has successfully created a mark for herself in the industry. Today, she is one of the highest-paid actresses of Bollywood.

Image Source:Instagram/KanganaRanaut

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Transportation Managem ent Systems (TMS) Market Expected to Witness High Growth over the Forecast 2026 SoccerNurds – SoccerNurds

Posted: at 5:06 pm

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Top Leading players operating in the market: One Network Enterprises, Descartes, CargoSmart, Omnitracs, Precision Software, Next Generation Logistics, SAP SE, HighJump, ORTEC, JDA Software, Oracle Corporation, MercuryGate, TMW Systems, Manhattan Associates, BluJay

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Unique X & Copine to deploy Advertising Accord in Switzerland – DCinemaToday

Posted: at 5:06 pm

Unique X, world leading cinema software provider,and Copine GmbH of Zurich, are delighted to announce a 5 year agreement for the provisionof the Advertising Accord solution to the Swiss cinema advertising market.

Deployed worldwide, Unique Xs Advertising Accord will allow Copine to innovate the sellingof cinema advertising within the territory while ensuring automated delivery to the cinemascreens of their Exhibitor partners. Advertising Accord provides key features such asinventory management, increased delivery optimisation and flexibility with dynamicscheduling. Advertising Accord is the market leading cinema advertising platform, creatingover 30 million advertising playlists on a weekly basis, globally.

The agreement also makes provision for the deployment of RosettaBridge TMS to theCopine estate for perfect end-to-end advertising delivery. Already powering over 35,000screens globally, the introduction of RosettaBridge TMS to selected cinema sites will bringmore control, visibility and increased automation as well as the ability to receive real-timeinformation on activity in each cinema site.

Marcel Ramsay, co-owner of Copine, commented: We appreciate the new opportunitiesAdvertising Accord opens up for us - especially in an increasingly connected, data-drivenworld. We are convinced that the Swiss cinema advertising market will benefit greatly fromthis.

Unique Xs Chief Commercial Officer Phil Morris also added We are very excited to beworking with Copine, and believe that this deal signifies the strength of the future of cinemaadvertising sales within the Swiss market. The introduction of Advertising Accord to thismarket is a clear demonstration of the flexibility Advertising Accord platform.

About Unique X

Unique X is a brand for the future of digital cinema, providing intelligent autonomoussolutions and content services. Unique X operates in 80 countries globally and specialises indelivering innovative cinema software. To date, more than 200 million GB of data have beentransferred, and over 300 million advertising playlists have been delivered. Cinema solutionsinclude RosettaBridge TMS (Theater Management System), RosettaNet CircuitManagement System, Movie Transit (Digital Cinema Package Content Delivery Network),Basekey (KDM management), RosettaPOS (Point of Sale), RosettaLive (Event Streaming)and our suite of sophisticated pre-show products of Advertising Accord, AdTransit andSmartTrailering.www.uniquex.com

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Women’s History Month at the Center for Education – TheHumanist.com – The Humanist

Posted: at 5:06 pm

This article is one in a series of articles in March in honor of Womens History Month.

The American Humanist Associations (AHA) Center for Education provides educational opportunities for humanist and secular communities. Programs take an innovative approach to teaching humanism, fostering ethical leadership and growing community for the humanist movement. The Center for Education supports the AHAs mission of disseminating humanist values and ideals while ensuring that both humanists and the broader public learn more about what humanism is.

In recognition of Womens History Month, wed like to point you to offerings that specifically relate to issues concerning womensome of which are online courses offered on our website for a fee and others are upcoming one-time events or webinars offered for free.

An important online course you can access for a fee is Sikivu Hutchinsons Feminism and Humanism: Women of Color Beyond Faith. Based on Hutchinsons book Moral Combat: Black Atheists, Gender Politics and the Value Wars, the course examines the fact that most secular literature does not capture the experiences of women of color. It looks at how black feminism arose from the struggle against systemic racism and gender politics. Other advanced courses include Humanist Parenting, Humanism and Race, and Humanism and/in Hip Hop, highlighting intersecting issues of parenting without belief, racial justice, and evolving dimensions of humanism among marginalized communities. To access any of these courses, and a host of other free and for-a-fee classes, just sign up at the Center for Education website.

If you prefer to stick to free seminars, there are plenty of special interest to women as well. Check out this Wednesdays Speaking of Humanism seminar to hear licensed mental health counselor, author, and atheist activist Candace Gorham speak about Children and Mental Health: What Parents Should Know. On our website, you can also catch Taking a New Look at Gender Equality, led by David Rowell, the Education Director for Systemic Diversity Organization/The Systemic Diversity and Inclusion Group. Wait until April and you can tune in to Intro to Reproductive Justice and Intersectionality by Dr. Colleen McNicholas, an OB/GYN and specialist in family planning and abortion care, and Pamela Merritt, Executive Director of Medical Students for Choice.

While youre checking out the options that may be of special interest to women, make sure to explore all the courses the Center for Education offers. They range from classes explaining the basics of humanism, to advanced courses for experts in our community, to topics of general interest like climate change.

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Catholic Priest: I’d Deny Biden Communion Until He Repents and Converts – Friendly Atheist – Patheos

Posted: at 5:06 pm

In a video that went viral again over the weekend, a Catholic priest made it clear he would never give Joe Biden communion until he repented for being pro-choice (not that Biden was asking him for any favors.)

The political-rant-disguised-as-a-sermon was delivered by Rev. William Kosco of St. Henry Catholic Church in Buckeye, Arizona on February 7. The full sermon is here, but the key excerpt is below:

if you are pro-abortion, I am tempted to ask you to leave St. Henry Parish. Leave this parish. [Im] tempted to say that, because then I think, Where would you go?

This is not just this parish that teaches this, this is the Catholic Church. The holy Catholic Church of God that teaches this. What parish would accept your views? Sadly, you would find one, and that is an indictment against the bishops. God help that parish that would let your ideas foster in their parish.

And so instead, I will not ask you to leave. Why? Because this may be your only chance to repent. To change your mind and to come to know the truth and finally embrace it. So I wont ask you to leave. This is your chance for salvation.

You are welcome here even if youre pro-abortion, but your ideas are not welcome here, and they will be given no quarter.

The same with Joe Biden. Hes a Catholic. Hes a member of the family. If, for some reason, he would be in Buckeye on a Sunday, Joe Biden is welcome to come to Mass here. His ideas are not welcome here.

And if you ask me a follow-up question: Would you give him communion? No. Over my dead body. Not until he repents. Hes a public figure. He needs to publicly repent, and we need to pray for his conversion.

Nothing like the member of an organization that facilitates child sex abuse telling everyone Joe Biden is a bad Catholic because he dares to let women control their own bodies.

The threat of not getting communion is also absurd, like an evangelical Christian condemning an atheist to Hell. It wont hurt me, but it says a lot about you.

Every few years, and especially recently for obvious reasons, we hear about a Catholic priest denying communion to a pro-choice politician. Its silly every time they do it, mostly because 48% of the people who call themselves Catholic also support abortion rights. Unless Kosco wants to purge the Church of everyone who rejects the Churchs narrow-minded theology and he clearly does most practicing Catholics are just picking and choosing which rules to follow. The same could be said about same-sex marriage.

The irony of Koscos rant is that Biden has repeatedly said hes against abortion privately, just not when it comes to public policy, though even the latter took a lot of work on the part of progressive groups. So its bizarre that this is the hill priests like this guy are choosing to die on. If they really wanted to punish people who violate Catholic principles, they should be looking in the other direction of the hierarchy.

Good luck, by the way, finding a sermon in which Kosco trashes Trump and other Republicans for making it more difficult for women to access contraception so that they dont get pregnant against their will.

When the Catholic Church is mad at you for putting womens health over tribal mythology, youre on the right track.

(Screenshot via YouTube. Thanks to everyone for the link. Portions of this article were published earlier)

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YouTube Shorts debuts in the U.S. but what does the future look like for the TikTok competitor? – Mashable

Posted: at 5:06 pm

After months of beta testing in India, YouTube Shorts has arrived in the United States.

On Thursday, YouTube announced that its begun rolling out its shortform video TikTok competitor in the U.S.

While Shorts videos could have been viewed stateside since the beta launch, the creator tools that facilitate YouTube Shorts are making their debut in the U.S. today.

The YouTube Shorts section as seen on the YouTube mobile app's main page.

YouTube also announced that it has partnerships with 250 music labels and publishers, such as Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment and Publishing, Warner Music Group and more. This is a huge starting point for a new shortform video app, given how music edits and dance videos make up a large portion of the most popular content on TikTok.

YouTube Shorts product lead Todd Sherman walked Mashable through the platform and answered some questions as to where Shorts is headed.

YouTube Shorts really feels like a natural part of YouTube's evolution, Sherman said over a Google Hangouts chat. But it's early for us. We feel like we're just getting started.

The YouTube Shorts creator tool rolled out in the U.S. on March 18.

Over the years, YouTube has cemented itself as the place for longer videos whereas other platforms, like the now-defunct Vine and TikTok, stepped in for bite-sized clips.

It certainly is early for YouTube Shorts. As of now, Shorts creator tools are very rudimentary. A very basic editing tool enables users to record, cut up clips, and add some simple timers, text, and filters. Compared to TikTok, the most popular app in the space, which automatically syncs sound and provides a slew of effects that help facilitate the creation of various types of video challenges, YouTube Shorts is still very much in beta.

Unlike TikTok, however, YouTube Shorts is not a standalone product. Its built right into the larger YouTube platform, so YouTube users may have already seen many shortform videos with the hashtag #Shorts in the title. In our conversation, Sherman dispelled a common misconception about Shorts: Creators need to put #Shorts in a videos title to be included in YouTube Shorts. Thats not true.

The YouTube Shorts player where you can swipe to catch the next video in the feed.

In fact, YouTubes system will pull any square or rectangle vertical video (dimensions common when shooting video with your smartphone in portrait mode) thats sixty seconds in length or less into the YouTube Shorts feed. Theres no need to include the #Shorts hashtag.

But building Shorts right into YouTube certainly does have its advantages. For example, creators can take advantage of YouTubes entire video library billions of videos from all around the world to remix, edit, and interact with. The creator tool released in the U.S. helps make that happen with the tap of a button.

Much like TikTok, viewers can see other videos that remix the same music and sound as the clip they were watching. Clicking on a hashtag will take you to more videos uploaded under that same hashtag. But, because YouTube Shorts is built into the broader YouTube platform, the creator of the audio being remixed gets some additional benefits too. For example, along with those other remixed videos, YouTube Shorts can take users directly to the original creators YouTube channel, which can help them build up their subscriber base as well.

Here you can view which other YouTube Shorts videos are using the same audio and even create your own with a tap.

For creators, the chance to build up their channel may be the biggest draw for YouTube Shorts. For now at least, YouTube Shorts are not monetized, even if you're a creator who is part of YouTubes monetization program.

We certainly plan to [monetize] Shorts but it's going to take a fresh look at what it means to monetize shortform video, Sherman explained. I think shortform video needs a different business model than longform YouTube.

With that in mind, YouTube does already treat its YouTube Short videos differently to regular YouTube uploads. Subscribers to a YouTube channel wont receive a notification every time that YouTuber uploads a Short. Those bell notifications are disabled for YouTube Shorts videos. Sherman says YouTube is also already looking into separating Shorts videos from longform videos on YouTube channel pages.

And while YouTube Shorts is planning to add many editing features and effects to its creators tool, things that helped make TikTok so popular, its clear the company doesnt want Shorts to be viewed as just a TikTok competitor.

Regardless though, its clear TikTok is ahead of every other platform when it comes to shortform video. Facebook knows this, which is why the company decided to demote videos uploaded to Instagram Reels that are repurposed from TikTok. Sherman tells me that YouTube currently has no plans to discourage creators from uploading their TikTok videos with the TikTok watermark, but the company will be monitoring that situation.

As Sherman pointed out in our discussion, many of TikToks defining features came from other platforms. Vine brought us multi-clip videos. Smule pioneered duets. Recording with audio from another source? Dubsmash and Musical.ly, an app which TikToks parent company acquired in order to launch TikTok in the U.S., were the firsts on that front.

And YouTube has its own plans for Shorts.

What does it mean to connect a shortform video ecosystem to broader, longform YouTube? To YouTube Music? Not just in a way where you can learn more about an artist or video or channel, but in a way where creation is enabled, posed Sherman. I think those things are going to unleash a lot of creativity and those things only can happen here.

I would just say stay tuned.

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YouTube Shorts debuts in the U.S. but what does the future look like for the TikTok competitor? - Mashable

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Health ads in users’ customized online sites may evoke negative reactions | Penn State University – Penn State News

Posted: at 5:06 pm

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. Tweaking the look of a social media profile may subtly alter a persons reaction to the health messages that appear on that site, according to researchers. They add that these reactions could influence whether the users heed the advice of those messages.

In a study, the researchers found that people who gained a feeling of control when they customized an online website were more likely to perceive the health message as a threat to their freedom, lowering the chance that they will adopt the messages advice. On the other hand, when customization bolstered the users sense of identity, they did not resent the message as much and were more willing to consider the ads recommended behavioral changes, according to the researchers.

In a customized environment with strong identity ties such as a social media site like Facebook we might not mind the persuasive attempts of a health advertisement, but in an environment that offers control without much personal identity for example a news website we seem to take these types of messages as a threat to our freedom of action and react negatively against them, said S. Shyam Sundar, James P. Jimirro Professor of Media Effects in the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications and co-director of the Media Effects Research Laboratory.

According to the researchers, who report their findings in the journal Health Communication, people often customize their online media spaces by adding photos and artwork, along with uploading avatars and icons. These seemingly small acts of decoration and creativity may enhance the users feelings of ownership of these spaces, said Jinping Wang, assistant professor of media studies, Duquesne University, who served as the papers first author.

Users have a lot of opportunities to customize their sites and portals such as adding pictures, or choosing the news sources for their feeds and it seems that when people customize these interfaces, they are turning it into almost their own sacred place, or their own personal territory, said Wang.

Advertisers and health professionals currently use these spaces to pass on health-related advertisements and public service announcements, or PSAs, said Sundar, who is also an affiliate of Penn States Institute for Computational and Data Sciences (ICDS). He said that when these ads appear in online spaces over which they feel a sense of control, they are more likely to trigger a threat to their freedom, which could then lead to anger at and even defiance against those messages.

The researchers suggest that health communicators may want to carefully consider the placement of their online messages to avoid triggering those reactions of a loss of control or freedom.

Our data suggest that placing a health PSA in customized spaces where users are secure in their identity can help reduce their negative reactions, said Sundar.

Developers may also want to consider features that boost users sense of control, according to Wang.

Giving users options, such as skip this message or close this app, would be helpful to potentially preserve their sense of control. That might also make them less reactive to the content, said Wang.

The researchers recruited 145 participants on a web-based crowdsourcing platform for the experiment. The participants were invited to test a news website and randomly assigned to one of two conditions. In one condition, the participants could add a background picture and an avatar, as well as select news topics. The other group was unable to make those customizations.

Each group saw a health message -- a public service announcement about using sunscreen -- in their feeds. Researchers randomly assigned either a high threat health message, which featured stern language and imagery, or a low-threat language, which featured milder language.

The participants were then asked questions about their reactions to the message, their attitude toward using sunscreen every day and their behavioral intentions to follow the suggestion.

In the future, the researchers said they may investigate the relationship between customization and persuasion regarding health attitudes that are more tightly connected with ones personal identity.

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Recorded Music Grew $1.5 Billion in the Pandemic Year – Rolling Stone

Posted: at 5:06 pm

Cast your mind back to the first half of 2020. Beleaguered as we all were by scary and depressing daily news about the pandemic, the global recorded-music industry began to doubt the security of its own near-term future. With retail stores closing and income from performance royalties being hit by the shuttering of bars and restaurants, reports began to emerge suggesting that record labels should brace themselves for a mini-crash.

Such fears were worsened in Q2, when the release schedule of the major music groups grew noticeably thin. (Case in point: The recorded-music division of Universal Music Group the worlds biggest record company saw its quarterly revenues fall 4.5 percentYoY in Q2 on an organic basis.)

Better news, however, was just around the corner. Midia Research has published its estimate of what the global recorded-music industry including majors, indies, and DIY artists generated across the course of 2020 in wholesale/trade revenues. Midias figures suggest that the recorded-music business saw revenues of $23.1 billion in the year. That was up seven percent on 2019, and represented a $1.5 billion monetary increase year-on-year.

It would take a hard-hearted industry commentator to complain aboutany growth in 2020, but that $1.5 billion (+seven percent) annual uplift, notes Midia, was smaller than the $2.1 billion growth seen in 2019 (+11 percent year-over-year).

Midia notes: Although the [worldwide] recorded-music business experienced a dip in the earlier months of the pandemic, the remainder of the year saw industry revenue rebound. That rebound, notes Midia, saw the global recorded-music businesss quarterly revenues bounce up 15 percent YoY in Q4 2020, suggesting a strong 2021 may lie ahead if that momentum continues.

Interestingly, global annual recorded-music streaming revenues actually grew fasteron a monetary basis in 2020 than they did in 2019.

Midias numbers suggest that total (recorded-music trade) streaming revenues grew by $2.3 billion (+19.6 percent) to $14.2 billion in 2020. In the prior year, the research company notes, annual streaming growth weighed in at $2.2 billion.

Midia

Universal and Sonys recorded-music operations both saw annual growth in 2020, with Warners equivalent numberstaying flat on 2019.

Midias numbers suggest that combined, the three major music companies lost a little global market share in the 12 months, falling from 66.5 percent in 2019 to 65.5 percent in 2020. Notes Midia, While this shift is part of a long-term market dynamic, most of the dip was down to WMG reporting flat revenues for the year.

Another factor here was one of the biggest industry stories of 2020: the continued growth of the DIY artist sector. DIY artists uploading their music via the likes of TuneCore, DistroKid, and SoundCloud generated $1.2 billion globally last year, says Midia.

This artists direct sector saw a 34.1 percent growth in annual revenues in 2020, according to the companys numbers, and broke the billion dollar mark for the first time. Artists direct grew their collective market share by more than a whole point to 5.1 percent, says Midia.

Midias MD, Mark Mulligan, said: The recordings business managed to deliver a strong performance due solely to the growth of streaming. Streaming has been the engine room since the recorded-music business returned to growth, but the fall in performance and sync revenues due to the pandemic highlighted just how overly dependent the global music business has become on streaming.

With lots of private equity money now pouring into creator tools companies like Native Instruments, expect this space to heat up even further in 2021. The recorded-music business is changing, and it is changing fast.

This article originally appeared onMusic Business Worldwide.

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Recorded Music Grew $1.5 Billion in the Pandemic Year - Rolling Stone

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