Spotify, YouTube Music to End Free Streaming In 2-3 Years, Sources Say

August 24

	According to several sources interviewed by Digital Music News, free music streaming across Spotify and YouTube may come to an end in the near future. The sources say the big three major labels (Sony/BMG, Universal, and Warner) may make moves to kill free music streaming if a pre-determined paid streaming threshold is reached. That level of paid subscribers may be achieved in 2-3 years, source say. The idea of terminating free streaming isn't from today. In 2016 Sony Entertainment CEO Michael Lynton said: "I think [free access] stops probably when you get over a — I don’t want to say the number, but… many, many-fold bigger than what we have in the current paying subscription world". Free streaming brings in a relatively minor amount of revenue into the industry compared to paid accounts. But free streaming may be the main reason that leads to more paid subscriptions and that decreases the online piracy levels. According to Digital Music News: "All of which is shifting the momentum towards streaming stage two, which involves a ‘hard transition’ away from free tiers. And the logic behind the move is this: more and more people are paying for premium streaming accounts. At a certain point, those subscribers will be contributing enough money to keep the industry healthy." Source: Digital Music News