fascinating (and gorgeous!) chart showing the evolution of recorded-music revenue over the last 50 years

the first thing that jumps out at me is how much smaller the overall pie is post-streaming. the streaming services and major labels have successfully managed a) to dramatically devalue recorded music and b) to put a much larger percentage of it directly into their own pockets. it's one of the single biggest upward transfers of wealth in history — from artists to billionaire corporations