No one knows anything about the streaming economy. Not Really. That’s the stark message at the heart of Public Knowledge’s new whitepaper “Streaming in the Dark,” which catalogs the remarkable “wall of NDAs” operating at every level of the modern music industry. The relationship between labels and streaming services? NDA. The relationship between distributors and streaming services? NDA. and on and on and on. As a result, the most important questions about how the business works—for example... are artists making more or less money? They can’t even be posed, let alone answered. To learn more, we spoke with Meredith Rose, the lead author on the report. It’s a conversation that moves from the historical roots of our current mess (consent decrees anyone?) to what could be done to begin making a change. Come for wild facts about Lady Gaga’s contracts. Honestly—stay for them too. This system is nuts.

Get full access to Money 4 Nothing at money4nothing.substack.com/subscribe