In a streaming and playlist first world, albums have become less of a critical component of success for the industry. There is, however, opportunity to revive what is a dying format. And the blueprint comes from video games.
In 2020, Grand Theft Auto V, the last installment in the Grand Theft Auto series released in September 2013, generated $1 billion in revenue. In contrast, recorded music revenues for 2020 totalled $12.2 billion. Impressive but troubling when you consider that one video game — more than seven years post-release — generated more than 8% of the total recorded music revenue. On the whole, revenues from the video game industry were nearly $180 billion in 2020.

The fundamental difference between the video game industry and the music industry is that that the video game industry knows that its success and ultimately its excitement is wrapped up in its customer base . Whereas the music industry most often dictates success and excitement to its customers. Looking at it differently, the video game industry is a two-way street paved with gold, where the music industry is most often a one-way street filled with potholes.

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