Have online streaming services like Spotify reduced our willingness to pay for music?

Online streaming services are a double-edged sword, they reduce the willingness to buy music but they are a big asset to the music industry. It is bad that artists have worked so hard to produce music, only for the music to be accessed for free at the price of viewing a few ads. On the other hand, the streaming industry has grown a lot over the past years to the tune of over 100 million subscribers online. Additionally, in 2017, for the first time, sales from streaming services exceeded those from CD sales. This means that it is important for the once-ailing music industry to embrace streaming as a way to spread music and as a source of income. Music trends that have recently surfaced are particularly suited to streaming rather than traditional music sales. In the past, musicians would debut a new track that would climb the charts gradually and later fall. Nowadays, musicians can premier new music, which if captivating, debuts at number one on streaming services due to its popularity. Also, in the past, musicians would wait for contracted albums to earn from their music, currently, a single release can earn an artist money. So while online streaming services deter music lovers from buying music, they have a crucial role to play as the music community embraces new technology.