Industry groups like RIAA obviously massively overstate their case when they claim every pirated mp3 is a lost sale, but Napster et al. did cost the music industry dearly.
If you look at a graph of music sales over time, you can see that the 1990s were a great time for the music business.[1] CDs brought in increasing revenue until the early 2000s, when they precipitously declined. Legal downloads did not make up for the decline in CD sales. Streaming eventually halted the decline, but revenue only stabilized around 2010-2015. In other words, the music industry had a really tough decade.
Of course, the music industry also has itself to blame. CDs were expensive, and who wants to pay $20 for an album that only has one song worth listening to? The industry only embraced downloads and streaming once they had no other choice.
There's a good documentary on this: System Shock.[2]
The music industry had a tough decade in this instance because they missed the digital boat and had to play catch up.
If they'd not been so greedy and got involved in mp3 downloads and streaming earlier they might not have had such a hard time.
Like your final point, it could easily be argued that piracy has actually forced industries to pursue more consumer friendly practices that they would otherwise have ignored.
I'll check out that documentary, it sounds interesting
CD revenue declined dramatically, and nothing really made up for the decline until the 2010s, when streaming came along. Total revenue from music sales (including legal downloads and streaming) bottomed out at about half of what it had been before Napster.
The reason for the decline is pretty clear: music was free and convenient to get online, and CDs were expensive.
If you look at a graph of music sales over time, you can see that the 1990s were a great time for the music business.[1] CDs brought in increasing revenue until the early 2000s, when they precipitously declined. Legal downloads did not make up for the decline in CD sales. Streaming eventually halted the decline, but revenue only stabilized around 2010-2015. In other words, the music industry had a really tough decade.
Of course, the music industry also has itself to blame. CDs were expensive, and who wants to pay $20 for an album that only has one song worth listening to? The industry only embraced downloads and streaming once they had no other choice.
There's a good documentary on this: System Shock.[2]
1. https://blogs.sas.com/content/graphicallyspeaking/files/2019...
2. https://vimeo.com/336427561