Technically, you never own the song, even if you buy the rights to listen to it in your home or on your person with iTunes.Well, technically you never own the song, so as long as you listen to it 404 times before you die, then the artist got more than they would have from just buying the song for $0.99, unless they died before that happened. I don't drive excessively, but there's a few songs on the radio I've probably heard a hundred or so times just within a few months, i.e. Uptown Funk.
When you "buy" a song on iTunes, you only buy the rights to listen to it at-will on your person or in your home, and not for public consumption.
I know, it's a small point, and I got what you posted, and I get your point. I'm just being one of those engineer types... :O