Rampant MP3 copyright violation motivated and enabled some awful owner&user-hostile design, from which we're still suffering.
I don't like anything about the RIAA, but a lot of computer users don't have the high ground either.
I don't like anything about the RIAA, but a lot of computer users don't have the high ground either.
There was a singular reason for this: UX. The IP mob absolutely despised anything different to their existing business model, and were too boneheaded to recognize the opportunity to make something good. Most of all, they hated that they needed to change. It took decades, but now only niche enthusiasts download music, even though it’s as easy now as it was then.
The same thing could be said about TV streaming, of course, although they’ve done a worse job on the technical side.
RIAA not liking what users do caused RIAA to do user-hostile design, from which we're still suffering. Bad users, bad!
As GabeN said - piracy is a service problem.
Pirate sites generally had better quality than iTunes (which was 128kbps for way too long), and were often ripped from a better sounding source or master because the people uploading albums were dedicated fans of the material. One great example is the soniclovenoize uncensored stereo version of "We're Only In It For The Money".
Spotify doesn't have this problem.
Remember what.cd?