In 2020 the global pandemic transformed the landscape of all of our lives. Shops were shuttered, almost every planned event for that year was canceled, and people worldwide tried to adapt to the new normal. No industry was spared from the disruption that the spread of COVID-19 caused, especially the music industry. Here, multi-talented artist and music producer Jose Pena shares his insights on the music industry to share how it was affected by the global pandemic.
According to Jose Pena, the first knock-on effect caused by the pandemic was making live music events and festivals extinct overnight. Forcing people to shelter in place and entertain themselves at home became compulsory. According to Jose, and caused the music industry to take a new direction. Suddenly every avenue that music lovers once had available to them shrunk down to focus on just one element of the music industry; streaming. Jose explains that the streaming platform Spotify became a beacon of hope during the dark early days of the pandemic. Artists were kept afloat by monthly downloads and Spotify’s newly introduced tipping feature, while people stuck at home were kept entertained. On the topic of home entertainment, Jose shares that the colossal surge in popularity that the video-sharing app TikTok experienced had a huge effect on the music industry. As more and more people flocked to the app to create and share content, the music that appeared within popular videos went viral. Expanding on this, Jose Pena says, “Bands like the Canadian rock group Mother Mother suddenly saw tracks that they’d released as far back as 2007 soar up the charts as TikTok caused them to go viral, and a new form of music marketing emerged.”
The Bronx-born Jose Pena shares that music has always been a lifelong passion for him, but that he first started making a name for himself in the music business in 2016 when he released “One dance” Spanish Remix Ozuna Ft Zion & Lennox. From there, Jose started developing his talents within the production booth and collaborated with a host of popular urban artists like Gigolo y la Exce, El Mayor, Super Neuvo, and several others.
The past year has had a transformative effect on our world with no industry escaping unscathed, and Jose Pena believes that the ways in which the music industry was able to pivot and survive will affect the industry for years to come.
