I think he's right that it hurts the music industry in the long-run, but I think it's wrong to investigate them for anti-trust. They should be allowed to make whatever deals they want, as there are many competitors in the streaming space. Apple is far from a monopoly. But I do think that the right way to go is what UMG is doing, which is banning the practice outright. If it hurts the industry, the people running it will adjust to it. And really, I don't think short-term exclusives are all that bad or very damaging. People have no patience. I just don't like that you can only get a certain artist on a certain streaming label, because it means that people have to pay for several different services. And in the long-run, it probably doesn't make the music labels any extra money because they still get paid the same price per song played, regardless of how many platforms a user is signed up for. An individual can only listen to so much at once. So they might get a short-term benefit from Apple paying them or whatever, but long-term it doesn't make sense. It's best to have your songs on as many platforms as possible. As for the indie angle, I don't think that makes sense. People who are into indie stuff will always find a way to seek it out, through places like Soundcloud, YouTube, different streaming radio channels, or even live shows (what a concept!). Then bands grow in popularity organically from there. Making music isn't always like making an app. You can't just shoot it out there and expect huge success overnight. And for that matter, the vast majority of apps aren't like that either. Placement helps but you have to make it first.
