The music industry had a monopoly on the physical collection of music for many years, refusing to sell digital music and instead, opting to demand that people steal it. This delayed the growth of streaming and created a situation where music lovers felt misused by the industry.
This podcast discusses Rhapsody's success in the digital music space and the challenges they faced in obtaining full catalog licenses from major music labels.
The music industry insisted on not selling digital music, leading people to look for that option which led to increased piracy instead of streaming services gaining popularity.