globalEDGE Blog - By Author: Paris Carter

Streaming platforms are on their way to dominating the global music industry. There hasn’t been a significant shift in how listeners consume music since the evolution of the mp3 audio files in the mid-90s.

Oktoberfest is an annual festival in Munich, Germany, consisting of traditional Bavarian music, parades, wagons, carnival rides, food, and drinks. It originated over 210 years ago and was inspired by the celebration of Princess Therese von Sachsen-Hildburghausen's marriage to the Crown Prince of Bavaria, who later became King Louis I. Since then, it has only been canceled 24 times due to political climates during wars.

The production of orange juice dates all the way back to the 1500s, when Spanish explorers planted the first Orange Trees in Florida, United States. However, it wasn’t commercialized until almost 300 years later when industrial innovations allowed greater product distribution. Since then, the orange juice market has dramatically expanded and has now become a breakfast staple for consumers all around the world.

The chocolate industry is getting stirred up by the innovation of Swiss scientist Kim Mishra and his team at Zurich’s Federal Institute of Technology. Switzerland, which has been producing chocolate since the nineteenth century, has seen continuous developments both in the way that chocolate is produced and consumed as new machinery and techniques are developed.

The beauty and personal care industry has always been a stable and reliable industry, but recently, it has especially been on the rise, generating over $625 billion in revenue across the world in 2023. Furthermore, the industry is expected to reach close to $736 billion in global revenue by 2028.

Paris’s recent decision to raise parking prices for SUVs and larger vehicles could lead to a significant decline in the global car industry but would specifically impact the United States. The starting price for parking in the inner city of Paris for a non-electric SUV weighing 1.6 tons or an electric SUV weighing 2 tons is 18 Euros (19.54 American Dollars) an hour. While the starting hourly price for smaller cars is only 6 Euros. But the increase in pricing doesn’t stop there; after 2 hours of parking, the prices rise even more. For those looking to spend a day in the city, a six-hour parking rate for an SUV driver will cost you 225 euros compared to the regular rate of 75 euros.

The popularity of cruises has increased astronomically since the significant dip it took due to COVID-19 in 2020. The global cruise market is estimated to reach 37 billion U.S. dollars by 2028. Currently, the United States is the leading country by far in terms of revenue created by cruises. In 2025, it is estimated that the United States will generate a little under 16 billion dollars of revenue from the cruise industry.

While planes are currently one of our world’s fastest forms of transportation, are they our most efficient? Signs point to no, as more and more countries, specifically in Europe, are investing more in rail transportation. In 2022, Luxembourg invested 575 euros per capita in its railroad system, and they weren't alone. Switzerland, Norway, and Austria invested between 300 and 450 euros per capita, further developing their railroad system.

While Black Friday is the biggest shopping day of the year in the United States, bringing in over 65 million dollars last year, there is another, even larger-scale shopping holiday that many don’t know about: Singles Day.

The podcast industry has grown astronomically worldwide over the past couple of years. Its popularity took off during the height of the pandemic, when many people found themselves with lots of free time to listen to and record podcasts, and it has been taking off ever since. The ability to listen to podcasts while doing chores, cooking, and driving creates an immense amount of flexibility for listeners. It can be put on in the background of almost any task, drawing more people in towards audio content.

For all of the television and film fanatics out there, you have our sympathies. You may have experienced boredom the past few months after Hollywood screenwriters and actors went on strike for almost five months. The effects of the strikes go beyond boredom, however, and hold many implications for the international entertainment industry.

While the words "accessible luxury" may first appear to be an oxymoron, the concept has grown vastly in the past few years. The definition is pretty broad, but typically, accessible fashion includes better quality material and craftsmanship; however, their products are not quite as expensive as the stereotypical luxury companies such as Gucci or Louis Vuitton. Some popular accessible luxury companies include Calvin Klien, Coach, J Crew, William Sonoma, and MAC.

The influence sustainability has on the global market is rapidly increasing. As more and more people value the environmental impacts of their purchases, demand for sustainable fashion is quickly increasing. Companies that incorporate sustainable initiatives into their products have the potential to grow significantly in the near future. As of 2022, 78% of consumers in the Netherlands incorporate sustainability into their purchasing decisions. Additionally, younger generations value sustainable products more than earlier generations, with Generation Z valuing them the highest. 75% of Generation Z value buying sustainable products over purchasing name-brand products.

It is a turbulent time for the job market of the tech industry. Many companies’ demand for workers in this sector has changed drastically over the past few years. In 2020, various tech industries took part in hiring sprees in response to the surge in consumer demand for digital goods and services that skyrocketed due to the pandemic. Additionally, many companies hired new employees on a full-time salary instead of on contract.

The Music Tourism Market, which took a big hit due to the Covid-19 pandemic, is now rising rapidly. Music tourism refers to traveling to a destination with the specific intent of going to a concert or music festival. Hosting an event related to music is very beneficial and lucrative for the host cities as many people will support their local economy by going out to eat and sightseeing while there for the event they’re attending. Along with this, the allure of traveling to a new place commonly motivates people to attend concerts and music festivals abroad. In 2022 the Music Tourism Market was valued at 5.5 Billion USD, and the market only continues to grow; FMI predicts it will reach 11.3 Billion USD by 2032.