Member-only story
Why Is There A Growing Rebellion Against Music Streaming Services?
Where the hate stems from and some practical solutions
The Rise of The Streaming Service
In the late 1990s, Napster shook the industry to its core. When the file-sharing business entered the market and allowed folks to download music into MP3s, share them with one another, and listen to them on custom-made CDs, the music industry immediately shut it down.
At the time, the music industry had no viable alternative to fill the demand for easy-access digital music libraries. The way Napster made music more accessible during this period largely influenced the strategy and later impact of major music libraries like iTunes and streaming services like Spotify.
By the mid-2000s, Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon created Spotify to more legitimately meet the demand of music listeners, given the technical advantages of the Internet. The internet allowed Spotify to make music readily accessible to reach people in the fastest way possible: on their phones.
The caveat was that Spotify needed permission from the labels to make their artists’ music available on their sites; otherwise, Spotify would face the same fate as Napster.
