when people argue that "digital distribution is essentially free," then ask why Soundcloud is losing money, since distributing music is literally their only real cost of doing business.
we will continue to endure substantial cultural losses for so long as people continue to believe that content can & should be distributed and consumed for free.
ultimately some sort of micropayments + blockchain-like-cloudserving might replace Spotify, Soundcloud, and all other streaming services with a decentralized system in which listeners compensate artists directly.
until then the promise of disintermediation is just a fantasy. gatekeepers on the Internet control access to most content, particularly music.
we will continue to endure substantial cultural losses for so long as people continue to believe that content can & should be distributed and consumed for free.
ultimately some sort of micropayments + blockchain-like-cloudserving might replace Spotify, Soundcloud, and all other streaming services with a decentralized system in which listeners compensate artists directly.
until then the promise of disintermediation is just a fantasy. gatekeepers on the Internet control access to most content, particularly music.