In the last five years, the situation has evolved extremely fast. We're in a completely different universe. I'm thinking of the disappearance of the CD or of the physical album. That's what's happening at full speed. The drop in CD sales is not offset by the revenue from music played online or downloaded onto physical supports. In fact, the physical support is replaced by music you listen to live on demand or through playlists, virtual radio stations, and so on.
As a result, an artist no longer has the same possibilities today. I will give you an example from when there were albums.
In the past, there was a type of ecosystem surrounding the physical album. An artist would go on tour, and when he arrived in a town, the local record store had already announced his arrival a week before. Posters were placed in the store windows to announce a discount valid for a week on an album, for instance $15 instead of $17.95. There was a promotion. Radio stations would receive copies of the new album. As it is, all of this is in the process of completely falling apart because now, the work is virtual. It can be purchased on Spotify and on Apple Music at all times. We can't decide to release an album on Spotify on a given day and to plan a tour. It doesn't work like that anymore.
Nowadays, the revenues from Spotify are so meagre and low that artists can no longer hope to make a living with the broadcasting of their works. It's no longer possible. Writers are not the only ones suffering huge losses of rights, the same goes for performers. We spoke of the equitable compensation regime. It's interesting when works are broadcast a lot on the radio, but when they're played on Spotify and on Apple Music, artists receive next to nothing.
To add to the problem, if an artist records a physical album— they still exist and they're still published —and he wants to pursue his career, he must also allow it to be offered on online broadcasting services like Spotify. The person who listens to his album can download all the songs on his phone, listen to them when he pleases, for instance on a trip, but the artist will receive nothing. No royalty is paid for this reproduction.
One of the main consequences of this evolution is the disappearance of the traditional model.