1 Overview

The CEEMID Music Professionals Survey 2020 is the 7th annual wave of our survey program. Over that time we have expanded the scope from a small group of countries to the largest international survey program in the field.

Our survey focuses on the income, work, education, training and outlook of music professionals in artist, technical and managerial roles, using an individual level surveying based on a US-EU harmonized model of the music industry. Over the past 6 years we have accumulated a significant body of evidence on issues such as music professionals’ economic and living conditions, their tour routes, how they reach their audience, and their attitudes towards the future of the industry.

This is a unique proposition for an industry that has no large research budgets, and which has been hit significantly by the pandemic.

The research can be used as an affordable entry point into market research for advocacy or other professional aims. Data from the research has contributed towards valuations, royalty tariff setting, private copying compensation calculations, export market targeting, ex post valuation of grant suitability, or ex ante grant design.

The Central European Music Industry Report 2020 is available as an example of research outputs.

1.1 Survey Focus in 2020

Our annual surveys ask questions in the same format every year. However, we also include questions specifically relevant to each year, with past surveys covering the advancement of women in the industry, and experience with grant programs.

2020 has brought much suffering to the music community. Great composers, performers, and other professionals have fallen victim to Covid-19. Many artists have lost their primary concert income.

This year we will examine the structural effects of the pandemic, and the end of a long benevolent macroeconomic period between 2010-2019. In major music markets, there have been some COVID19 surveys and short-term relief programs for artists and small enterprises. Our research will give an insight into the possible long-term effects of the pandemic, and offer solutions for long-term recovery.

In addition, we will cover:

  • In the recording industry, shifts towards media/streaming platforms, automated playlist curations and other technological advances

  • Who represents artists, and how in 2020.

1.2 Outputs

1.2.1 Publicly available outputs

  • Consolidated Independent will release a Global Report that will be available for all our partners in the English language.

  • All indicator level data used for the reports will be available to our partners and subject to some level of external reviewability or auditability. We will never give out individual data about survey respondents, and adhere to strict ethical guidelines.

  • We will release some of the statistically aggregated data from the 2020 survey.

1.2.2 Outputs for co-founders

  • For co-funding partners, a local report highlighting the country in question in comparison with the rest of the world.

  • The data not used in the reports will be available to Consolidated Independent and other co-funding partners for potential later use, provided that they adhere to the principles of ethical use of statistical data.

1.2.3 Further opportunities

  • Further analysis, localization to local language and report writing is available through additional funding.

1.3 Who will be surveyed?

These surveys target individual music professionals, such as members of bands and professionals working in labels. Most labels, recording studios, and other technical providers are microenterprises with 1 to 4 professionals, with an average employee number below 2, with many professionals working in networks of freelancers.

1.4 How will we reach them?

1.5 For larger distribution partners such as collecting societies

We ask our distribution partners to make the anonymous and online survey available to their members and contacts. This typically means placing the survey link in newsletters, or sending a direct email to members highlighting the importance of the survey for the industry.

1.5.1 Small businesses and entities, such as smaller record labels

We ask them to send out the questionnaire to their ecosystem of artists and technicians. To avoid influencing responses, we ask them to complete the survey themselves after asking their artists and technicians.

1.6 How much time will it take to fill out?

We are asking music professionals about their concert budgets, audience sizes, recorded repertoire, royalty income and tour destinations. The questionnaire requires attention, and a thorough reflection on the respondents’ professional activities. It should not be filled out in a hurry.

We learned in the past 7 years’ surveying that music professionals do very heterogeneous work. They manage a label and play in a band, they compose and teach music, our run a rehearsal studio besides other unrelated activities.

Apart from the general statistical questions (age, country, region) we will ask people to fill out questions related to their primary activities (for example, producing sound recordings) and optionally their secondary activities (for example, booking shows when there is no pandemic.) At least, we also ask some general questions that are not specific to their role in music.

In our experience, filling out the survey depending on the level of professionalism, complexity of work is 7-20 minutes.

1.7 Who is commissioning the survey?

In certain countries and territories, our survey is commissioned by Consolidated Independent and its partners, in other countries it is commissioned by other organizations, or it is not commissioned. The organizations that commissioned the independent research set out the main research goals, but do not interfere with the work of researchers, and do not influence the results, and they never receive a copy of the individual answers.

CEEMID has been an independent research project starting with three countries, and four partners, and eventually reaching more than 60 partners in 12 countries. CEEMID and its team is being re-organized into the Creative Data Observatories in a Dutch startup company since 1 September 2020. This organizational change allows CEEMID to grow into new territories with a permanent team and more stable funding. In some territories, CEEMID partners will directly commission or carry out the survey.

1.8 How translations will work?

Reprex’s localization manager, Zuzana Gombrikova will use professional software to make sure that our computer-programmed generic English questionnaire is translated and localized to all participating countries’ local languages. This software is commonly used for multi-language projects. A proof reading platform will ensure all language variants can and must be reviewed.

This will mean that, for example, in Belgium the questionnaire can be filled out in Dutch or French, and in Canada English or French.

A small set of questions (mainly affiliation with national societies, or regions within the country) will be asked based on the location of the respondent. For example, regardless of whether they fill out the questionnaire in English or French, Canadian respondents will be asked about which federal state they live in.

1.9 How can organizations be involved?

1.9.1 Distribution

We are seeking organisations who can distribute the survey to their members, colleagues or associates. We would like to involve as many organizations as possible in distributing this survey.

Distribution partners will get a personal, technical contact person in the Reprex team, where they can report immediately any bugs, potential vandalism in the survey, problems with translations, or any technical issues.

1.9.2 Co-financing partners

We are seeking co-financing partners. They will receive credit as co-commissioners, a territory specific report and access to additional aggregated (i.e. no data on individual respondents) data.

Funding support will be publicly disclosed on the survey program’s website and on the survey forms.

Such parties must explicitly agree to the Data handling, data integrity and data use and that the nature of their contribution will be disclose on the 7.1 Cooperation with Consolidated Independent list.

Please get in touch with Pete Bradwell at Consolidated Independent or Daniel Antal at Reprex.

Partners in UK, Americas, and most European national organizations please contact Peter Bradwell at peter.bradwell@state51.co.uk For European EU-level international partners, former CEEMID partners, and specifically for Benelux, Scandinavian and Pacific (AU/NZ) partners please contact Daniel Antal at daniel.antal@dataobservatory.eu.

National organizations participating in Reprex’s Music Observatory project, which we hope to be the basis of the future EU European Music Observatory can participate without any additional cost.

Regardless who is their partner in funding the survey, all co-funding partners will a personal, technical contact person in the Reprex team, where they can report immediately any bugs, potential vandalism in the survey, problems with translations, or any technical issues. They should send the short information on the type of their support as disclosure, and the contact person will make sure that this information is displayed on the questionnaires and the background information website with immediate effect.

1.10 Can partners add questions?

To ensure comparability, the survey will be consistent across territories.

However, there may be opportunities for co-funding partners to add 1-2 questions specific to their country only. Such questions will not be translated. For example, if our Dutch partners insist on one extra question to Dutch musicians professionals, this question will not even be displayed for Dutch-speaking Belgian respondents.

Through additional funding, a partner may add further questions related to its own interests and initiatives. In such situations we create a fully compatible national ‘clone’ of the international survey, adding the bespoke questions. It will not affect the way the particular country is presented in the final report.