If it wasn't already crystal clear that music streaming is the future of the industry, then just take a look at Warner Music Group's recent first quarter earnings this year. For the first time ever, the label earned more money from streaming services, such as Spotify and YouTube, than actual digital sales from the iTunes and Amazon stores. In fact, the revenue from the streaming services for the label was up 33 percent, while digital sales only increased by 7 percent during the same time frame. "The rate of this growth has made it abundantly clear that in years to come, streaming will be the way that most people enjoy music," Stephen Cooper, CEO of the label said during an earnings call.
Recently, Sony made the move to remove some of their major artists music off of SoundCloud because it's not as profitable as other streaming services such as Spotify. Music streaming services are already making more money than CDs for the first time ever, and it now looks like they have their sites set on the digital music marketplace.
[h/t Fader]
