Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

How The Pirate Bay Helped Spotify Become a Success

posted by janrinok on Tuesday March 20 2018, @06:53PM   Printer-friendly
from the sharing-is-caring dept.

canopic jug writes:

One of the latest beneficiaries of sharing music online, according to TorrentFreak, turns out to be the streaming music service Spotify:

Without The Pirate Bay, Spotify may have never turned into the success it is today. Ten years ago record labels were so desperate to find an answer to the ever-growing piracy problem that they agreed to take a gamble. Now, more than a decade later, Spotify has turned into a billion-dollar company, with pirate roots.

Last autumn the EU suppressed a 300-page copyright study showing yet again that copyright infringement does not harm sales. It often helps sales. Both factors have been known for a long time, with other studies going back to the 1990s.

Earlier on SN:

Spotify Files for IPO After Losing $1.5 Billion in 2017
Spotify Raises Cash to Fight Apple for Streaming Music Market
Band Earns $20K for Silent Album on Spotify

Original Submission

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
How The Pirate Bay Helped Spotify Become a Success | Log In/Create an Account | Top | 10 comments | Search Discussion
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.

  • (Score: 3, Insightful) by Arik on Tuesday March 20 2018, @07:55PM (3 children)

    by Arik (4543) on Tuesday March 20 2018, @07:55PM (#655596) Journal
    Oh, don't get me wrong. Big media does like money. But it's a means to an end.

    The end is power. "Ownership" of the culture itself, of people's thoughts and memories. Power and influence over masses of people.

    That's why when shown proof that sharing actually helps their sales and makes them more money *they simply don't care.*

    --
    If laughter is the best medicine, who are the best doctors?
    Starting Score:    1  point
    Moderation   +1  
       Insightful=1, Total=1
    Extra 'Insightful' Modifier   0  
    Karma-Bonus Modifier   +1  
    Total Score:   3  

  • (Score: 4, Informative) by PartTimeZombie on Tuesday March 20 2018, @08:30PM (2 children)

    by PartTimeZombie (4827) on Tuesday March 20 2018, @08:30PM (#655606)

    I think you're largely correct, it is about control.

    The big media companies have spent the last 30 years or so buying out their smaller rivals, until we are at the point where there is almost no competition really left (I am thinking mostly about music here).

    Now that they have total control over the market, from creation to delivery they have turned the popular music industry into a widget making system, where there are a bunch of market segments (girl pop, heavy metal, country, punk, fill in your own genre here) and they supply a pre-made product to fill each of the market segments they have created.

    Music being what it is of course, there are plenty of people making their own and plenty of fans keen to listen, but I can't see any way for an independent artist to become mainstream without being co-opted by one of the main players.