US Recorded Music Revenues By Segment, 2011 vs 2012 [CHART]

The 21st century has not been kind to the US recording industry. Since peaking at $14.6 billion in 1999, the business has shrunk to less than half its size, barely besting $7 billion in 2012, according to a new eMarketer report, “Marketing Opportunities in Digital and Live Music: More Musicians Say, ‘I’m With the Brand.’”

To put the industry’s current valuation into perspective, Samsung and The Coca-Cola Co. combined spent more than $7 billion on marketing in 2012. Clearly, brands are in a position to invest, and some see plenty of upside in music properties. As a result, they are getting involved in ways that were unimaginable as recently as a few years ago, including launching new releases, running recording studios, nurturing underground talent, making music videos and creating original programming.  Read the rest at eMarketer.