The music industry is constantly changing. As time goes on, like in many other industries, technological advances change the playing field as products become more efficient and accessible. In this case, music is the product. Ever since the digital age of music in the early 2000s, the change has become more rapid. CDs were thrown out and replaced by MP3 players and digital downloads. As piracy became rampant in the digital world, many started to believe the music industry is dying and there are no more profits to be made in the industry. However, to counter this new crime, streaming services came into play. Streaming music services create a platform on which consumers are offered a more accessible and easier way to enjoy music. As the music industry is in a time plagued by piracy, the only way to keep the industry profitable is through streaming services as they incentivize consumers to pay on a subscription basis for a more accessible form of music. These services have shown wide appeal and changed the profits of the music industry drastically in the past couple of years. There are three key components that will determine the future of the music industry: The distributors, the consumers, and the artists. As services like Spotify and Pandora have shown to be wildly popular in the market in the past couple of years, consumers have shown willingness to make this change. The new platform of streaming music services will sustain for the future and become very profitable for both sides because of the decrease of piracy and shift in technology as long as artists and record labels find a fair and transparent way of distributing profits. 

Since the birth of the music industry, change has been the norm. It is in constant need of evolution as consumers have shown the need to access music more easily. Distribution of recorded music started with records and has evolved all the way to millions digital files stored on one device. Kevin Tennent, a professor and researcher on the music industry, explains that "Music required economies of scale and scope in distribution  --  the ability to handle a large and diverse catalogue, while also responding to the fast turnover requirements of the popular part of the industry"(Tennent 328).  There are many different factors that affect the industry as a whole. Since the music industry requires so many moving parts in order to function, moving the product requires detail and attention. The products involved are on such a large scale that one of the biggest issues is distribution (Tennent 328). 

All changes that have come about in the industry have been geared towards offering consumers a more accessible platform. The market for records died quickly as soon as tapes came out and allowed listeners to take their music wherever they pleased. Soon after, CDs came into the market and listeners were able to carry around a catalogue of their favorite albums and songs. The introduction of the MP3 player destroyed the market of CDs as people could store and listen to thousands of more songs on one device. There is a pattern that these shifts in the market followed; each platform was easier to use than the last. The music industry has always followed this pattern and will continue to do so. It has become too much of a nuisance for consumers to download a song illegally. Digital downloads have been worn out in the music industry and streaming music services offer a viable change in technology. They are now willing to spend the extra money to select any song at any time with a paid subscription to Spotify or listen for free as Pandora picks the music for them. Streaming services allow the music industry to follow its natural pattern.  

The music industry has relied on the digital platform for over a decade now. Since the dawn of the MP3 player and the market for digital downloads, piracy has become rampant. Starting in 1999, companies like Napster have had a grip on the music industry (Richardson 47). Although Napster itself has been dissolved, its "impact on the music industry has substantially outlasted its existence" and has "eased users into a new status quo of digital music ownership" (Richardson 48). There have been dramatic losses since piracy became this big of an issue. Koren Helbig, a writer for Global Post reported that "Music sales in the United States have dropped 47 percent in the decade since peer-to-peer file sharing site Napster was created in 1999, from $14.6 billion to $7.7 billion"(Helbig). The effects that piracy has on the industry are crippling. Not only has the market for music been depleted, but "the US economy loses $12.5 billion in revenue and other economic measures each year due to online piracy in the music industry, according to the Institute for Policy Innovation estimates"(Helbig). The issue of piracy cannot be avoided any longer. The effects are too substantial and there is call for change. Because of the extremity of the situation, that change has to come now. Streaming services have shown their ability to be the change and allow the industry to continue to follow market trends. 

Business on the streaming platform has shown incredible numbers over the past few years. A study has shown that Spotify's subscription rate has gone up nearly 25% in one year (Wlomert and Papies). The growth within the streaming market has proven to be incredibly popular and still rising. In return, the record labels who own the rights to the music are earning more. These services have shown that they are highly sought after in the music industry and have long-term sustainability given their continuous growth. The platform of streaming has a much greater appeal to the public because of its payback for the flat rate that it charges or free service that it provides to customers (Wlomert and Papies). Consumers believe that streaming services, both paid and free, give a greater return on their investment than paying for music individually. While this reduces activity in the market for digital downloads, it has been found "that revenues from paid streaming over-compensate for the reduction in expenditures in other channels" (Wlomert and Papies). Streaming music services offer a flat or free rate, which consumers have shown to prefer over paying on an individual basis. The numbers reported on services such as Spotify and Pandora have heavily out-weighed those of digital downloading services such as iTunes. The previous captain of industry, iTunes, reported "a 14% drop" in sales in 2014 which is significant given that the figure "runs counter to years of rapid growth" (Guiness). The market for streaming music is expanding at a rapid rate while digital downloads continue their decline. The revenue from these services present a viable platform for the future of the music industry, as well as offer a new look into the industry and offer innovation that transcends the previous models. 

Technology in music has long been a key component in the distribution of the product. The convenience factor has been the driving force for consumers and suppliers alike in all markets. The music industry being no exception. Streaming music introduces a new way of listening that offers much more than digital downloads can. Consumers have shown a great response to these services as many have adopted them as their primary supplier of music. A writer from Deseret News National, Chandra Johnson reported that "It currently takes 1,500 streams to equal the wholesale value of a downloaded or physical album, and in 2014, stream equivalent albums accounted for 46.9 million in album sales'"(Johnson). She also stated that this figure "nearly doubled year over year" when overall album sales "slid by 8 million in one year, from 235 million to 227 million" (Johnson). The numbers reported in both the digital market and the streaming market show wide margins of both growth and loss. A streaming platform for consumers offers a new business model that requires more listening. The convenience these services provide, however, substitute for the free download alternative. Listeners respond better to the business of steaming music allowing the market to grow sufficiently. The general public has shown that they are willing to pay for music on this platform.

The streaming model has become wildly popular among the public in the past few years. It has become an outlet for almost all forms of media. Netflix, the wildly popular movie and TV service, has been able to open the door for media through a streaming model. The superpower in television and movies has proven itself as an "outside force armed with superior technology [that] gives it a cachet that can't be matched by mere content providers" (Laporte). The company completely flipped the script when it introduced its streaming service. It has become almost a complete substitute for cable television (Laporte). The rest of the media industry has shown that they are willing to make the shift in technology to this model. 

This technology can also offer a very different way of distributing music that draws in even more profits. It has been found that "streaming music incentivizes an artist to have the consumer listen to a song repeatedly" (Scott, Hiller, 3). Problems concerning the bundled album become irrelevant with streaming music. This generates more profits for artists as consumers were previously less willing to buy an album because of the songs they may not listen to (Scott and Hiller, 4). They are now more willing to listen to more songs that the artist releases. The platform opens up a much larger market for releasing singles. There is a new frontier for music on a platform that offers consumers a new, exciting way of listening. 

The new model of steaming music has allowed for new technologies to be introduced to the market to further advance convenience for the consumer. One company that offers a new look into the steaming platform is Pandora. Both the paid and free versions of Pandora offer a service that was previously unavailable on any other platform. In an interview, Pandora CEO, Tim Westergren, talks about how the idea for the company came about and explains why personalized radio stations have shown a great appeal. Westergren described his mission as wanting to "help musicians find their audiences and help audiences find great new music" (Westergren). This mission, although simple, carries a lot of weight; both on the front of innovation in music as well as the benefits of streaming music. The mission shows the connectivity that a streaming platform has to offer. Through new technologies, specifically streaming services, it becomes possible to break down barriers between artists and consumers. With the massive catalogues of artists, albums, and singles, these services allow listeners to discover new music at an endless rate (Westergren). The mission of Westergren embodies where music is going. The industry is finding new ways to connect listeners to their music. The new technology in the music industry is leading to a more innovative future. It is paramount that the industry allows this innovation in with open arms in order to save itself from falling under. Companies like Pandora and Spotify are opening consumers up to an amount of music that was previously not available anywhere else. While consumers have shown their willingness to adopt this change, it is up to the distributors and artists to do the same.

The music industry comes down to three main components: the artists, the distributors, and the consumers. While relations between the consumers and distributors on the steaming platform are great and continue to strengthen, a problem faces the artists. Distribution of profits between the distributors and artists has caused a bit of a riff in the music industry. Artists, although their music is listened to much more frequently now, only receive a fraction of a penny per stream. David Byrne, a former member of The Talking Heads, published an opinion piece in The New York Times alleging that "many streaming services are at the mercy of the record labels" (Byrne). This creates flow of profits to heavily favor the record labels. Byrne also found that "about 70 percent of the money a listener pays ...  goes to the rights holders, usually the labels, which play the largest role in determining how much artists are paid" (Byrne). The distribution of profits do not lie heavily in favor of the streaming services. The record labels continue to hold their grip. The three main labels (Universal, Sony, and Warner) have shown a great appeal to the streaming platform because of its profits. They will keep a large share of these royalties while only distributing 30% between artists and streaming companies (Byrne). The profits in the music industry must flow evenly in order to maintain a level of sustainability. While Byrne may believe that this makes streaming an unworthy substitute for the future, it is a problem that can be fixed. The streaming model should work perfectly in the market as long as there is a balance that is maintained. 

Finding that balance of fair and equal pay can be tricky given the specific circumstances of artists and the labels they are signed to. Taylor Swift famously pulled her whole catalogue of music from the streaming music goliath, Spotify. Swift, however, has the ability to do so. Because she and artists like her have developed a market already, they are "compensated with the sales of their own brand items, concert tickets and advertising contracts" (Morillo). But it is important to look at those trying to break into the music industry. It has become a "problem ...  for those whose star-power is more modest than that of Ms. Swift's supernova" (G.M.). New technologies offer a great way for aspiring artists to gain a fan base and medium for doing so. The problem arises when the record labels become involved and introduce complex paper contracts dealing with the rights to an artists' music (G.M.).  This will "play to the strengths of lawyers and accountants, not lyricists and tunesmiths, ensuring that more money flows to handlers than to creators" (G.M.). Perhaps the first step in the right direction is transparency. The lack of transparency between record labels and musicians is the root of the issue. Once this is achieved, it will open the table to a conversation about royalties in the industry through streaming. 

 Some of the industry has already recognized the issue as there have been efforts to curb this problem and head in the right direction. Billboard published an article explaining how Tidal, a streaming service created by Jay-Z, is making efforts in the streaming market to create equal distribution. The service bases its business model on what its founders believe in; fair compensation. Even if their model may seem a bit tricky in practice, "its launch could cause this year's licensing negotiations" (Peoples). The process to fix this problem has begun but there is much more to do then introduce one streaming service to the market. The industry, as of now, lacks a certain amount of transparency in its contracts between artists, record labels, and streaming services. The platform can work though. Billboard reported that for Tidal, "the number of paid subscribers rose 25.6 percent to 7.7 million from 6.2 million" in 2014 (Peoples). Tidal has garnered a good amount of attention that will soon create a conversation in the music industry. Services like this can continue to step in the right direction and find an even playing ground allowing streaming music to perform at its full capacity. 

The music industry has reached its limit in the current era and needs to find a new frontier in which it can thrive. The era of digital downloads has shown that it can longer continue in the market. Streaming music makes this bright future possible. The technology is innovative and follows the industry's natural trend. Consumers have shown their willingness to get on board with this new era of music. These services curb piracy in outstanding rates while successfully keeping the industry afloat in a time of corruption and need. Streaming services have proven themselves as a platform that can sustain in the market and offer an exceptional amount of growth. The three main components of the industry must find common ground. Profits are flowing generously for streaming music but distribution within the industry must remain fair and transparent. Compromise between the distributors and artists is vital. If that compromise and transparency occurs, the music industry will see itself rising in profits for many years to come on the sustainable platform of streaming music services. 

