I think the issue with Spotify is that artists compare revenue to CD sales, when they should be comparing it to piracy. I listen to (estimated) one new album every day, as part of about 5-10 hours of listening to music each day depending on my work schedule. $10-$20 an album is just not a price I'd be prepared to pay on a daily basis to listen to new music, and before Spotify I wasn't spending that money; I was pirating them or streaming them on websites without a revenue share model for labels.<p>I still buy just as many CDs as I used to (probably about 10 a year), plus Spotify gets an additional $120 a year from me (70% of which goes to the music industry), which is a no brainer for me for the convenience of the service. In addition to the considerable sum ($2000+) which I spend annually on live music.<p>The best solution I feel is a two-week exclusive on all new releases for physical and digital purchases before they hit subscription services. If you really want the CD, you can buy it, or you can wait two weeks until it's free on your $10 a month subscription. Sure, piracy will go up, but it is not the music industry's business to stamp out piracy, it is their business to maximise music revenue.<p>This, along with the increased value-adds of physical purchases - deluxe vinyl editions, signed editions, additional goodies - the "Kickstarter" pricing model, if you will - is how the music industry will continue to make money. That and increased ticket prices for live music, and I anticipate most record deals includng a cut of live revenues for major labels in the future (if they aren't already).<p>For the record, I do not think major labels are inherently bad for music - if you cannot afford to record and promote your album, a major label can do it for you, at the cost of a large chunk of your profits if you're a hit, but not leaving you in the red if you aren't - a major part of record label's profitable artists must cover all the ones who are not also. If you don't want to do such a profit split, the option is always there to finance the record yourself and pay labels up front for distribution and marketing.