10 reasons for change in the Music Industry Infrastructure

1. The music recording is failing. Across the board, artists are experiencing serious problems monetizing their audio releases.

2. Recording revenues have been declining for more than 10 years, and they continue to decline precipitously year-over-year. This has dismantled the label system, once the most reliable form of artist financing.

3. Digital formats continue to grow, but not enough to overcome broader declines in physical CDs.

4. Even worse, the evolution of formats keeps pushing the value of the recording downward. Streaming pays less than downloads; downloads paid less than CDs. And the next thing after streaming will probably be even worse.

5. There is little evidence to suggest that this downfall is being made up by touring, merchandising, or other non-recording activities.

6. Streaming is rapidly becoming the dominant form of music consumption. It also pays artists the worst of any formats before it.

7. Post-album, artists and labels have failed to establish a lucrative, reliable bundle to monetize their recordings.

8. Most consumers now attribute very little value to the recording itself, and most consumption (through YouTube, ad-supported piracy, or BitTorrent) happens at little-to-zero cost to the listener.

9. A generally uncertain economic climate only adds to consumer resistance against paying for music.

10. A massive, decades-long shift towards free (or near-free) music means that entire generations have never paid anything for recordings. And will continue to resist any requirements to pay for music.