A new report by music industry consultancy firm Midia Research hopes so. It pitches a future of “interactive artist subscriptions” where albums look more like apps, and where fans pay artists a small amount every month for access to their music – with streaming services acting as the middlemen.
The company’s Next Generation Music Products report claims that this could be the key to winning over artists – from Thom Yorke to Taylor Swift – who have publicly expressed their concerns about streaming’s impact on musicians.