industry revenue, according to the Recording Industry Association of America, which cited paid services like Spotify and Apple Music. In 2016, for the first time ever, streaming music services were responsible for more than 50 percent of all U.S. Streaming is the “it” method when it comes to music consumption. In addition to artists’ music merchandise, Arena Merchandising has the equipment and expertise to offer printing, product development and other marketing-related tools to traditional customers ranging from schools and small businesses to churches and tattoo parlors. The platform can be accessed through Arena’s website or the Arena Music app.Īrena's merchandising division supports the music side. Arena averages 750-1,100 new listener accounts each day. Today, Arena has 803 artists and labels, 706,000 registered users and 3.5 million tracks, according to Evans. Arena was designed as a viable option for artists that want to have sustainable careers in the music industry,” Evans said.Īrena began with 750 artists and labels that brought 275,000 registered listeners. “Every one of the (other) platforms targeted customers. When preferences moved from physical to digital, so did Evans. The Phoenix company actually started in 1997 as a conventional distributor that physically put CDs and records on shelves in then-music hubs like Tower Records and Sam Goody. When Evans launched Arena in 2013, it was his nimble reaction to a changing market in which fewer consumers bought music to own. … Arena will never become anything in the major label system.” Evolving format

“Streaming services always stay underwater (and) slaves to the major labels. They want to break it and have it go away,” explained Evans, who said that in the early days, the corporations tried unsuccessfully to get him to move to a paid model. Evans said they have approached him wanting to invest and his response is always the same. Arena represents a threat of sorts to the big guys with a platform that offers an alternative. To some of the biggest movers and shakers in the music industry, Damon Evans has become a wanted man.īut the founder and CEO of Arena Music is determined to remain elusive by making his Phoenix-based platform more than just about the money in an industry where the bottom line is the only line.Įvans has created what he described as the only streaming platform that’s not financed by a major label.

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