Market Overview
Mobile cloud music services have brought a significantly notable change in the music consumption patterns of the present era. The service enables consumers to access music through cloud storage platforms from anywhere on a subscription fee basis. Internet connectivity is required to be able to access and download the music from platforms offering mobile cloud music services. The availability of in-built playlists and access to a wide variety of music are some of the special features that will contribute to the growth of mobile cloud music services market.
Market Dynamics
Growing number of smartphone users and easing internet accessibility worldwide, are two of the major factors propelling growth in mobile cloud services market. Now-a-days, music is being followed religiously as a trend, by almost every human being on earth. This has ascended the need to provide convenient access to music by consumers.
Asia-Pacific is expected to witness the highest growth in the mobile cloud services market owing to the growing number of smartphone users and establishment of network infrastructure to enable improved internet connectivity in the region.
Trends
With transformations taking place in consumer lifestyles, smartphones have notably become an inseparable part of their lives, owing to the convenience and availability of access to entertainment services provided on the device. In the lieu of these lifestyle changes, the music industry has also undergone severe transformations in the way music is now delivered to people.
Mobile cloud music services are one of those transformations that are changing the way music is made available to people. It has largely eliminated the need for physical distribution channels for music selling firms along with an added advantage of minimal required marketing efforts. Consumers too have now reduced on the purchase of separate physical storage devices to store and play their favourite songs as the cloud platform can appropriately serve their requirements. Also, mobile cloud music service companies have been able to generate substantial revenues through displaying app-based ads as a large number of consumers subscribe to the free-services model.
Growth Drivers
With the increasing penetration of mobile cloud music services, decline in prices has been observed, which is expected to further drive the market during the forecast period. Increasing number of smartphone users has consequently led to a proportional growth in the number of premium digital music streaming service subscribers. This is another major factor which is expected to fuel growth in the cloud music services market during the forecast period.
As users look for a place where they can store their playlists and play it on their various internet connected devices on the go, mobile cloud music services are able to fulfil the requirement. Moreover, increasing use of wearable devices and the adoption of internet-of-things technology is further expected to fuel the demand for mobile cloud music services during the forecast period.
Restraints
High internet costs, high bandwidth and fast streaming requirement are few of the major factors affecting the growth of mobile cloud music services market globally. However, the efforts made by governments and telecommunication service providers to establish advanced network infrastructures at affordable prices to masses are expected to overcome the challenges related to content streaming in the coming years, in turn boosting the mobile cloud music services market. Music piracy is another major hindrance in growth of mobile cloud music services market, globally.
Competitive Landscape
The key players operating in the mobile cloud music services market include Amazon.com Inc., Apple Inc., CBS Corp., Google Corp., MOG Ltd., Rhapsody International Inc., Sony Corp., Spotify Ltd. There are other vendors in the cloud music services market that offer cloud music streaming services, catering to consumer segment belonging to a particular region.
However, the technology services are in their evolutionary stage and companies often innovate their subscription-based and subscription-free models in order to increase the customer base and maximize their revenues.
