Lucas Shaw, writing for Bloomberg, on a new RIAA report that shows US streaming revenue growing 57% in the first half of 2016:
For the good news to continue, sales of paid subscriptions must outpace the declining purchases of music, whether downloaded or on a CD. Physical music sales tumbled 14 percent while downloads also shrank by a double-digit percentage. Streaming holds promise because the cost of a one-year subscription — $120 — is more than the average consumer spent on CDs, even at the peak.
“We’re starting to see on-demand music streaming as no longer a thing that hipster college kids and young people do,’’ said Larry Miller, a former industry executive who now teaches music business at New York University.