[xoxoxoBruce]

NPR's take on the future of spotify

Now, the writing is on the wall for music fans — if you want to hear what you want to hear when you want to hear it in the friction-free and anywhere-access way you've become accustomed, the time is fast-approaching when you will be required to pay up.

Spotify's deal with Universal (as well as contracts with Warner Music and Sony Music which are still under negotiation) is not the only thing threatening Spotify's free tier. One month ago in Washington, D.C. a byzantine and little-known process, overseen by a panel of three judges named the Copyright Royalty Board, began to determine the rates that Spotify and its competitors will pay not to recording artists or labels but songwriters and music publishers.

Put simply (this part of the music business can induce headaches), this process involves the filing of arguments by companies about how much they should pay to license song compositions — and some of these arguments would all but annihilate Spotify's free tier. Apple, arguing on behalf of Apple Music — which has become Spotify's lead competitor since its launch a little less than two years ago — writes:

"Interactive streaming services do not need to be 'protected.'"