On-demand streaming is only one part of a much broader transition taking place in the digital music industry: the shift from analog media business models to the age of digital consumption. This research note discusses that shift in light of the current music industry, where the iTunes digital download leads the market but will not necessarily lead the future. Simply put, the audio file alone is no longer the product. Instead, the experiences built around it are, and as we discuss here, services like Spotify, Facebook, Topspin and others are leading the way into this new era of dynamic, interactive and social music.
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