Item: If record labels state that they invest a ton of money in musicians and nearly all of them do not make money, this means that the foremost goal of any musician must be to become one of the few acts who actually do make money. Hence, they don't really need to sell a lot of records at first, they need people discovering them. Spotify is like radio: it does not make much money, but it advertises musicians. I have discovered more new music on Spotify in a month than on iTunes in half a year.
Item: I really really like Spotify. All the friends who have seen it like it. I have given Spotify the same money I have given iTunes before. And Amazon before that. If streaming services will attract a big number of people, they will get better deals.
Item: Any time an 'industry veteran' says that 'something can not be profitable' I sense fear. What he is really saying is that he does not want it to be profitable the same way record labels did not want iTunes or Amazon to be profitable.
At the end of the day, its people who drive the market. If people want to listen to streamed music, they will. Maybe some companies can dry up some sources, but they never succeed in the long run against their customers.
> If record labels state that they invest a ton of money in musicians and nearly all of them do not make money...
It means that record companies fraudulently inflate their "expenses" in order to bleed off all profit from the industry.
For a record band to make money, they have to avoid record companies at all costs. Unfortunately, even with the internet disintemediating the record companies, it is still very difficult to get around the blood suckers.
Item: If record labels state that they invest a ton of money in musicians and nearly all of them do not make money, this means that the foremost goal of any musician must be to become one of the few acts who actually do make money. Hence, they don't really need to sell a lot of records at first, they need people discovering them. Spotify is like radio: it does not make much money, but it advertises musicians. I have discovered more new music on Spotify in a month than on iTunes in half a year.
Item: I really really like Spotify. All the friends who have seen it like it. I have given Spotify the same money I have given iTunes before. And Amazon before that. If streaming services will attract a big number of people, they will get better deals.
Item: Any time an 'industry veteran' says that 'something can not be profitable' I sense fear. What he is really saying is that he does not want it to be profitable the same way record labels did not want iTunes or Amazon to be profitable.
At the end of the day, its people who drive the market. If people want to listen to streamed music, they will. Maybe some companies can dry up some sources, but they never succeed in the long run against their customers.