The Business of Music in SG

Written by: Hannah Asha Lai (23-E1)

Designed by: Liu Min (24-A2)

Music is everywhere today. It’s easy to carry an infinite amount of music with just a phone and a subscription to a streaming platform. Music is easy to access with just a few clicks, so why the rise of “physical music”? When we can get unlimited music for just a few dollars every month, why is there an increasing number of people turning towards buying the much more expensive physical mediums of music?

CDs, cassettes and vinyl are all physical mediums of music, and in recent years, they have seen an increase in popularity. And with that comes an increase in price. Yet they remain highly sought after, and artists are aware of this too. 

Albums have started coming out with multiple physical mediums accessible for listeners, making them available on CDs, cassettes and vinyl. But that’s not enough. “Variants” have started gaining increasing popularity. In the USA, big retail shops such as Target and Walmart have started signing contracts to put out their own exclusive “variants” of certain albums, such as coming out with vinyl in an entirely different colour. Artists also sell their albums in physical mediums on their webstores, advertising not just one possible vinyl, cassette or CD version to buy, but up to four or even six! 

Some records are marketed as “limited editions”, whereby only a few thousand copies of that vinyl variant are available for sale. Once sold out, there will not be a repress of the vinyl, which means that these variants are typically more expensive, especially at retail price. 

One very popular group of records that fall under this category of “limited edition” are Record Store Day vinyl pressings. Record Store Day was started to support and promote local businesses in the USA and the UK. Artists collaborate with this event and give the rights for their albums to be pressed on a limited number of vinyl – which are typically coloured and very unique. Over the last few years, collectors and music enthusiasts have queued overnight just to be the first to enter a record store and secure one of these records to add to their collections. Or to sell them off at a very inflated price. 

So, why exactly are artists turning their attention, investments and efforts towards promoting physical music? Don’t they want to gain their streams from streaming platforms to climb charts and top them? 

Well, obviously a lot of profit stands to be gained from the selling of physical media, through contracts and deals with companies looking to produce their own exclusive editions, and also through sales from die-hard fans or avid collectors. Physical media also contributes to “streams” as counted by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), which gives out Gold or Platinum Awards to artists to recognise the success of their singles or albums. These awards are a testament to an artist’s hard work and success through their music. 

In fact, the RIAA reported that in 2022, physical music sales had gone up by 4% from just the previous year, cashing in USD$1.7 billion with vinyl sales surpassing those of CDs and driving the growth in the sale of physical media. 

Graph from riaa.com showcasing the trend of physical music sales from 2019 to 2022

So, with all that being said, what does this mean for the music business in Singapore? 

Well, Singapore doesn’t have access to stores such as Target and Walmart. A majority of artists’ web-stores only ship to the US or UK, which makes it hard for international fans to secure a webstore exclusive record or CD. Record Store Day is not widely celebrated or promoted greatly in Singapore either. 

However, that doesn’t mean that it is impossible to secure one’s hands on a copy of their desired physical medium of music in Singapore. One just has to cop out a bit more money to do so. 

Thankfully, music stores in Singapore are able to secure their hands on these physical mediums of music, including the exclusive editions, and sometimes even the limited edition variants. Unfortunately, their rarity results in them being sold at rather high prices here in Singapore. Yet, given the high shipping costs and the difficulty in acquiring such albums in the first place, are the prices really that unreasonable? 

The biggest music store in Singapore, Swee Lee, sells vinyl, mostly via their online stores. However, their stores – such as the one in Star Vista – does have a small stock for you to rifle through. Recently, Swee Lee has even opened up a vinyl listening spot in their newest store at Clark Quay, where there is a selection of over 500 records for people to choose from to listen to at the store itself! There are other stores all around Singapore that specially sell vinyl, though. 

For instance, the Bugis area is populated with quite a few record stores, such as the Curated Records, Musicology Records and Surface Noise. These stores sell all types of records, from pop to jazz to rock. Singapore’s biggest record store is Red Point Record Warehouse, which boasts the sales of Chinese records especially.

Recently, a vinyl listening cafe named “Slow Boat” opened in Singapore at Craig Road, and vinyl records are also popping up for sale in cafes like Nickel Cafe at Middle Road. Thrift stores such as ANTEIKU STUDIOS also sell vinyl records. This is a result of these shops collaborating with online music sellers. 

If not through physical stores, Singaporeans can also opt to buy their records of physical mediums of music online. Amazon may be the go-to option, but even then there is quite a limited range to choose from, especially given all the limited and exclusive editions that are being marketed nowadays. There are, however, other ways to purchase physical media in Singapore. 

Carousell has proven to have quite a number of record and CD sellers. Some of the more popular ones are under the usernames @avantcultureclub , @tigervaultrecords , @vinylsavedmylife and @groovedistortion. These sellers are able to secure a majority of the album variants that come out – especially for current pop music – and though the prices are steep, it is genuinely unavoidable, given how difficult it is to secure and ship such vinyl records, CDs, or cassettes in the first place. 

These sellers deal mainly online, and sometimes they collaborate with other small businesses to sell their music. For example, as mentioned earlier, the thrift store ANTEIKU STUDIOS has collaborated with @vinylsavedmylife to sell records in their shop for people to access and browse through physically. 

There are many other record stores all around Singapore, with some focusing on rock music, others selling pre-loved records, and some specialising in jazz music. Whatever the case, there seems to be avenues – no matter how small – for music enthusiasts to purchase their music. A lot of waiting and patience is no doubt required, but at the end of the day, these small businesses are already doing plenty to support the music business in Singapore. 

All in all, the music business in Singapore is still rather small, but as seen from the growing number of collaborations and the successes of the few stores that have managed to remain even after the pandemic and lockdown, the business here in Singapore – much like the rest of the world – is only growing. These independent businesses rely on Singapore’s small music community and vice versa. 

Hopefully, with time, physical media is made more accessible for purchase in Singapore, and that the music businesses in Singapore will be able to grow and expand their pool of customers, which will definitely prove to be a win-win situation.