According to a study by Bloomberg Business Week, Spotify and other streaming services will never be profitable.

http://www.businessinsider.com/spotify-profits-2014-5

Streaming services come along and make an unprofitable product that completely devalues music and makes it so the creators of the content can't earn any money on their copyright.

This has been the prevailing wisdom for a while now. The future should be the complete destruction of the music "industry" and direct consumer to musician flow of goods and services. The internet makes this not only possible, but easy. If only those who have held musicians as essentially slaves would get the **** out of the way and die. itunes does some of this, but is still skimming way too much from the artists. There needs to be a marketplace where the creator of the content makes the most off of every sale.

Rocinante wrote:This has been the prevailing wisdom for a while now.  The future should be the complete destruction of the music "industry" and direct consumer to musician flow of goods and services.  The internet makes this not only possible, but easy.  If only those who have held musicians as essentially slaves would get the **** out of the way and die.  itunes does some of this, but is still skimming way too much from the artists.  There needs to be a marketplace where the creator of the content makes the most off of every sale.  

I just don't think music is worth anything. The consumer has spoken and they more or less don't want to spend money on music. People will settle for inferior sound quality on Youtube or MP3 format as long as they can get the tune for free.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/09/business/media/free-music-at-least-while-it-lasts.html?_r=2

A great opinion piece on the topic.

steveschneider wrote:http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/09/business/media/free-music-at-least-while-it-lasts.html?_r=2

A great opinion piece on the topic.

Is it great? I will read it, but the first few sentences say that he used google at no cost to himself... Multibillion dollar companies don't get by by giving things away. The "cost" may not be in the currency he's used to, but I already don't like the concept.

Anyway, I'll read it tonight.

Rocinante wrote:

Is it great?  I will read it, but the first few sentences say that he used google at no cost to himself... Multibillion dollar companies don't get by by giving things away.  The "cost" may not be in the currency he's used to, but I already don't like the concept.

Anyway, I'll read it tonight.

I saw a blogger do an essay on 'The Illusion of free' which was in response to the oped piece. I haven't read it yet, but I think he was building on the authors point and driving at what you are getting at.