article_snippet: Data for 2014 showed a major shift to streaming as opposed to physical sales and permanent downloads, with rapid growth both for on-demand services such as Spotify and Rhapsody and Internet radio providers such as Pandora.
article_snippet: Data for 2014 showed a major shift to streaming as opposed to physical sales and permanent downloads, with rapid growth both for on-demand services such as Spotify, app seen here, and Rhapsody and Internet radio providers such as Pandora ©Jonathan Nackstrand (AFP/File)
article_snippet: Whatever the bottom line for the long-troubled industry, the growth of streaming has been controversial with numerous stars complaining that the revenue sent back to artists is paltry.
article_snippet: Spotify has hit back by describing Spotify as a rare source of growth in the long-troubled industry and has said Spotify has distributed $2 billion back to artists over the past seven years.
article_snippet: A timeline of Spotify accomplishments on a wall at the entrance to the company headquarters in Stockholm.
article_snippet: The Swedish startup that revolutionised digital music is a major player in the streaming world - which has now overtaken CD sales.
article_snippet: The United States is the world's largest music market.
article_snippet: Format tastes have significant differences around the world, with CDs still dominating Japan but streaming taking off in Scandinavia.
highlights_snippet: On-demand services such as Spotify and Rhapsody and Internet radio providers such as Pandora biggest beneficiaries of explosion .
  
highlights_snippet: Comes as Apple believed to be preparing to launch streaming service .