大象传媒

In the final part of this series, journalist and broadcaster Matt Everett asks what life is like for an artist making music in the streaming age. With so many ways to create, listen to and distribute music, why are artists doing so badly? We hear from Primal Scream's Bobby Gillespie, Radiohead's Ed O'Brien and The Kindness's Adam Bainbridge.

For those artists who have built a fan base, the live music industry can be healthy, but promoters and managers complain of a diminishing number of headline acts. Many of the UK's small music venues are under threat and, while the British music industry is worth 拢3.8bn, much of that money comes from artists stepping on to the stage. If the music industry is broken, who is going to save it?

Launched in Sweden in 2008, we talk to Spotify about how it managed to make piracy unfashionable but why it still faces accusations of ripping off artists. Faced with such criticism, we hear how they have paid out some $3bn of royalties. But how is that money shared out? Why do some artists receive small royalty cheques for songs that have been streamed thousands of times?

Last year, music sales in the UK rose for the first time in more than a decade, but how much of the growth can be attributed to Adele? We hear how CDs still make up half of the market and talk to Adele's label boss, Richard Russell from XL.

YouTube is now the world's most popular digital music service, used frequently by hundreds of millions. But the viability of free, on-demand streaming services is facing increasing scrutiny. We ask YouTube's Robert Kyncl why the UK labels make less money from his company than from vinyl sales.

Producer: Barney Rowntree
A Reduced Listening production for 大象传媒 Radio 4.