Hey, it's Alan, and I just wanted to let you know that you can now listen to the ongoing

history of new music early and ad-free on Amazon music, included with Prime.

One thing before we start the show.

I want to let you know about a special interview you'll hear at the end of this episode.

It's with a host of a brand-new podcast called ArtCatex, the Architects of Art.

The cool thing is this show is hosted by Director X and Taj Critchlow, two of the biggest music video directors on the planet. These guys are

responsible for game-changing videos from artists like Drake and Coldplay and Kendrick Lamar and so many

more. Hope you enjoyed the discussion. I sure did. That's coming up at the end of this episode.

All right, let's get on with things. We are very, very deep into the digital world when it comes

to music. Virtually every song we could ever want is available to us instantly, no matter where

we are. All we need is an internet connection, and we're good to go. The music industry loves this.

In the old days, they had no choice but to manufacture, warehouse, transport, and distribute

physical product by the ton, sometimes across vast distances. Once the CDs and records and tapes

made it into the stores, then the labels had to collect

the money from the stores, plus deal with the return of unsold merchandise.

It was all very complicated, very expensive.

Now with streaming, there is almost...

Now with streaming, there's no physical product.

All the expensive overhead and those big fixed costs are gone. Digital distribution is so much more efficient and profitable on every single level.

And for music fans, this way of obtaining and consuming music is not just convenient but intoxicating.

Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, SoundCloud, Bandcamp, tens and tens and tens of millions of songs.

For older people who remember what it used to be like with record stores, this feels like

...