Since its introduction in 1962 by Thomas Kuhn, the term “paradigm shift” has all but been evacuated of its original radical meaning. While countless management changes and moves to optimize processes have applied the term, we often forget that Kuhn's application implied an alteration not only of how one perceived a specific agenda or how the world operated, but also the questions and practices that those operating that agenda and world were forced to change. Unquestionably, the music industry has undergone a paradigm shift in the past twenty years. Beginning with the introduction of file-sharing software in the late 1990s, which engaged the slow march toward networked ubiquity, the music industry has slowly, often reluctantly adapted to an economy built on data streams and branding. Without an industry centered on the sale of objects (discs and, before that, sheet music), every element of the music ecosystem has had to adjust...

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