How the music industry can still be saved

The music industry is in transition.

Between piracy and digital distribution, there has been huge destruction of value among legacy players and a lot of handwringing over the fate of music. But that doesn't mean there's no hope.

One major player at the world's second-biggest search engine (behind parent company Google, of course) is downright optimistic about the future of music.

Neal Mohan, the chief product officer at YouTube, has insight into how the rise of digital media might rescue the music industry.

Mohan will talk about these ideas at Business Insider's flagship conference, IGNITION: Future of Digital.

He'll have a lot to say, given YouTube's recently announced plans to revamp its site. The idea is to create a greater "community feel," where creators can share everything from videos and posts to polls and even live broadcasts with their followers. The focus will remain on videos, but YouTube is looking to break out of its single-task-platform mold.

So what does that mean for the music industry? Mohan thinks digital ads are the key to unlocking more revenue. Today, YouTube alone generates $3 billion in ad revenue. It's a figure that will only increase as digital consumption continues to grow - as young people switch off the radio and tune in online to hear the latest songs.

Learn more about what the future holds for YouTube and the world of music at IGNITION. The conference is December 5-7 at the Time Warner Center in New York City.

This year's IGNITION speakers include SpringHill Entertainment's Maverick Carter, Vimeo's interim CEO Joey Levin, EA's Peter Moore, and Vevo's Erik Huggers.

Sign up today before tickets sell out!