ABSTRACT
This chapter explores three key companies such as Napster, Apple, and Spotify, who at one point in time, each had a prevailing influence on the distribution and access of digital music from the 1990s to today. The evolution of these companies shows how the music industry went from being resistant to digital music distribution to now reliant on it as the leading format for music revenue. The chapter also includes a profile of Canadian artist Drake, the most streamed artist on Spotify, and discusses how music streaming changes the way he creates his music. Spotify had initial difficulty convincing record companies in the US to license their music on the platform. The industry was still feeling bruised by Apple’s bait-and-switch and was hesitant to embrace a new tech company that was promising music for free. The chapter concludes by considering who now holds control of the music industry and what that could mean for the future of popular music.
