Music Industry Experts on 2024 Piracy Rise & Streaming Impact

Music piracy is back, and I'm writing a feature about it. From my research so far, the 31 billion visits to piracy sites in 2023 and 2024 (combined) and the significant uptick in stream ripping are far from a LimeWire-style regression. It actually appears as a form of media literacy; a deliberate choice from a certain type of music fan - those who are no longer willing to trade agency, morals and ownership for unlimited access. Of course, piracy of culture isn't something to be encouraged. But when the value of music on streaming platforms has been driven down to basically zero (artists earn an average of $0.003-0.005 per stream via Spotify), some are concluding that they may as well get it for free. This obviously has ramifications beyond the world of music; it's a reality check for brands built on subscriptions and algorithmic models. Is piracy a sign we're shifting back towards ownership and away from the "enshittification" of streaming platforms? Would love to hear people's thoughts and potentially include some insights in the final article. Let me know! #MusicIndustry #Piracy #SubscriptionEconomy #Insights #Technology #DigitalOwnership #JournoRequest