ABSTRACT
Today’s music industry revolves around “selling music” in the form of two products: the concert and the recording. In the world of professional music making, both are closely interlinked; it’s almost impossible to imagine one without the other. While the concert’s appeal is its temporal uniqueness and impermanence, the recording transcends time and space. Recordings today can be reproduced indefinitely at almost zero cost and consumed individually in the space between two earbuds while penetrating all aspects of our everyday lives. This chapter looks at the current state of the recorded music industry and the crucial role it plays in how we envision the future of music; how, when, and where we listen to it; and how much value we give it. The focus lies on music streaming, which has become the defining medium for music distribution and consumption in the second decade of this century.
