Except you only got to listen to a few industry approved ultra popular artists, and it was virtually impossible to ever discover unsigned or unpopular music you might personally enjoy more. About half of the music I listen to on Spotify, I only discovered because of Spotify, and isn’t popular enough that I could have ever hoped to encounter it otherwise, but it has really enriched my life, and hopefully enriched those artists a bit as well by getting another paying fan- that will now also buy lossless albums and concert tickets.
Before streaming, you'd then probably be the kind of person to purchase your music. Most streaming users will listen to industry approved artists, the only difference for them is that they can choose when they listen. And that's why Spotify can't make them pay more, because radio is still free.
