Billboard conducted an anonymous survey of music industry leaders, gathering expert opinions on everything from the sector’s business outlook to favorite artists. One question asked whether the music industry is fair to artists, and 58% replied no. Billboard only said that its respondents were “A-list music-business professionals,” but that result shows a surprising honesty about echoing the concerns many artists themselves have been voicing. The respondents showed a lot of love for pop queens Taylor Swift and Lady Gaga; 70% said they root for Swift, while Gaga was the top choice of an individual who should run a music company.
The results also revealed a view of which music companies are the industry darlings and which are not. When asked if they would leave their current job to take a similar-paying one at Apple or Spotify, 54% said yes. Apple got an additional accolade, with Jimmy Iovine named the top most talented industry executive. On the flip side, a whopping 71% predicted that the premium streaming service Tidal would tank within a year. Only 12% thought Jay-Z’s artist-led platform would be able to stick around.
