With the writers strike in full swing, and the WGA having seemingly all of the power over the upcoming awards shows, I think now might be a good time to consider the impact that the writers strike will have on the music industry.

Luckily the Recording Academy escaped the disaster that would be the WGA not waiving it's strike for the Grammy's. But it's also important to consider the other implications of the writers strike on the music industry. First, and possibly the most obvious impact is on licensing for artists. With fewer new TV episodes being released it will be much harder to find the licensing opportunities on TV. This could move record labels to focus their efforts on commercial licensing (although it would make sense to move away from this as viewers move away from TV) and licensing in movies.

Second, we need to look at the way in which the trend changes resulting from the writers strike will impact music. Namely, as people move their search for the TV fix from broadcast and cable television to online episodes, we could see a slight increase in online music habits.

Finally, hopefully consumers will supplement their TV habit with a music habit. With less time being devoted to television, it is possible consumers will move to music, video games, and movies.

Any thoughts? Will the writers strike have any impact at all?