when people argue that &quot;digital distribution is essentially free,&quot; then ask why Soundcloud is losing money, since distributing music is literally their only real cost of doing business.<p>we will continue to endure substantial cultural losses for so long as people continue to believe that content can &amp; should be distributed and consumed for free.<p>ultimately some sort of micropayments + blockchain-like-cloudserving might replace Spotify, Soundcloud, and all other streaming services with a decentralized system in which listeners compensate artists directly.<p>until then the promise of disintermediation is just a fantasy. gatekeepers on the Internet control access to most content, particularly music.