The world’s biggest music label used to be OK with people streaming music on the Web without paying for it. But now it has changed its mind: Universal Music Group CEO Lucian Grainge says the music industry needs to shift away from free, ad-supported music and toward services paid for by you, the listener.
That was the message Grainge brought to the Code/Media conference last month, and it’s shared by other top music executives, as well as Apple, which wants to relaunch its own paid subscription service this year.
In the less-than-enthusiastic camp are Spotify and YouTube, which offer their own paid services, but say that offering free music on-demand is crucial to their model — and good for the music business.
This is going to be a big debate this year. You can watch part of the argument via Grainge’s conversation with Re/code’s Dawn Chmielewski.
This article originally appeared on Recode.net.
Contributions are a key part of the future of Vox
Readers rely on Vox for clear, nuanced coverage that not only illuminates the issues, but poses solutions, too. And we rely on help from our readers: Advertising and grants cover the majority of our costs, but we count on contributions to help us close the gaps in our budget. In fact, we’re looking to reach 95,000 individual contributions before the end of the year. Will you make the next contribution right now? Our average gift is just $20 — and it goes a long way in helping us keep our work free. Vox is here to help everyone understand what’s shaping the world — not just the people who can afford to pay for a subscription. We believe that’s an important part of building a more equal society. Join that mission by making a contribution today.
Yes, I'll give $5/month
Yes, I'll give $5/month
We accept credit card, Apple Pay, and
Google Pay. You can also contribute via
:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/63710544/asa_7678.0.1502298889.0.jpg)
