we want the music

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Hey! Congrats to Kendrick Lamar on the Super Bowl Halftime Show announcement. I know some are upset that this wasn’t the Lil Wayne - Young Money ensemble in New Orleans. But instead of comparing any artist’s worthiness of the stage, let’s not lose sight of the big picture. This is the first time a rapper has been the solo headliner for the Super Bowl, not as a legacy act, but still in their prime.

Let’s also not lose sight of the possibility that Drake may be called a colonizer, among other things, in front of 125 million people. Wild.

Today’s memo is about Roblox. The company has big goals ahead, especially in music. Let’s discuss what those goals are the opportunities and challenges ahead.

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Roblox's future in music

The 2024 Roblox Developers Conference was a statement for the 20-year-old company. Roblox wants to reach 1 billion daily active users, twelve times more than it reached at the time of the event. The company wants 10% of the $180 billion gaming market to flow through its digital environment. And Roblox wants music to be a big part of that journey.

Roblox has moved past the grand, costly, zero-interest rate era events like the Lil Nas X Concert Experience. The future in music is about creator-led Minecraft-style experiences, collaborations in popular settings, and access to deep catalogs of music. And since platforms like Roblox have captured the valuable 18 - 24-year-old market more effectively than music streaming services have, there’s an opportunity to double down.

The new Roblox - DistroKid partnership has captured recent attention for two reasons. First, there will be no royalties paid to DistroKid artists who opt-in to have their music on Roblox. It’s a reminder of the ongoing “promotion vs consumption” debates between music rightsholders and the tech platforms that rely on their music to engage and grow their user base.

The second part, which is less discussed, is the global reach of DistroKid. In 2021, the company claimed it distributed 30-40% of all new music. It’s the largest distributor of independent music in the world. Most of DistroKid’s future growth will come outside of North America. In an interview with Stratechery, the Roblox CEO said that India, Japan, Germany, and Brazil are primary focuses for them. And given the impacts of glocalization, Roblox will need local music from each of those markets.

If Brazil’s YouTube Music data showed that the first non-Portuguese artist to appear on the country’s charts was a Bruno Mars song at #86, then a similar trend likely exists in other markets.

The question for Roblox though, is whether those users who love their local music will check for music that comes from DistroKid. The distributor’s volume of music offers endless options. But music lovers care less about options and more about discovering a few songs that their friends and community can enjoy together.

Music has been the backbone of growth for TikTok, YouTube, Peloton, and several other tech platforms. But those platforms benefitted from music that was already in high demand. The blanket licensing agreements with the major record labels are likely more expensive than the case-by-case strategic agreements with the majors for particular activations. But there are plenty of non-major labels with a strong focus on various markets outside of the Western world. It wouldn’t take too long to look at the music charts for a handful of target countries across the world and see which labels those artists are signed to.

Roblox sees the value of shared experiences around music given the rollout of its own music charts in 2025. Similarly, TikTok, YouTube, Spotify, and others all have their own charts. But again, those charts are often dominated by music that has a professional team working on those records.

Roblox’s partnerships with music companies can be a hurdle or opportunity. Warner Music Group invested $10 million in the company, and other majors and their artists have hosted activations there. From Rolling Stones to Don Tolliver, every artist wants to reach a younger demo.

But the ongoing debate is whether platforms like Roblox are promotional platforms or consumption platforms. The Universal Music Group vs TikTok debate this year was a loss for UMG, especially after its flagship artist Taylor Swift did her own side deal with the platform during the dispute. TikTok’s promotional power for Taylor’s touring and other business interests was too large to ignore. Yet Taylor was only able to gain that leverage because her music was widely accessible on the platform, to begin with!

It’s the “chicken or the egg” dynamic that will continue to live on. As Roblox grows, leverage will play a factor in its negotiations, like any platform. Unlike TikTok and YouTube, it’s relatively less reliant on popular commercial music for its growth. That may help the company in the future, but its music partnerships and agreements will likely grow and continue to expand from here.

Three weeks until Trapital Summit

You’ll hear from the brightest minds in the game joining us for inspiring conversations. You’ll get to build relationships in a room full of execs, founders, VCs, and others who are pushing our industry forward. You can use my promo code RUNCIE for a 10% off discount.

Thanks again to our wonderful sponsors who helped make this event possible: Splice, Warner Music Group, Tidal, SoundCloud, Too Lost, and Luminate.

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