The 5 Most Powerful People in Streaming Music
Jay Z has made his $56 million move. Apple is at work attempting to crush the competition. Spotify racks up hundreds of millions of dollars in additional funding. YouTube merely maintains its 1 billion-strong audience.
Every player in music streaming wants a piece of the $1.9 billion business, which made up 27 percent of record-industry revenues last year, according to the Recording Industry Association of America. With iTunes-style downloads and CDs plunging, the battle for streaming's Iron Throne is well underway. Rolling Stone has gone through all the players and ranked the Top 5. Here are the ones to look to for the future of online music. - Steve Knopper
