Progress for whom? A customer can pay for years, but when he stops, he has nothing. How is that progress? Progress for the provider perhaps, as he has secured a life long revenue stream.
Good advice, thanks.
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I could recommend you some stock options where you can put the rest of the money (kidding, I’m no financial advisor). 
It’s like Roon for me. I save money on yearly because if I payed cash in hand 5 years ago that money would not have grown 200-250% as it has now. Some day it’s break-even probably. But that’s ok.
I myself have learned to live with less clutter and less things in general so streaming is very much in line with that.
I totally respect people who buy the digital releases (or CD/Vinyl) 
Also as you say a better way to support the artists.
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The vast majority of performers have never made their money by selling recordings. That is the privilege of a very select few. I think we have completely missed the point if we believe that buying music somehow fixes the entertainment industry. Streaming democratises music distribution, but it has always been the case that for every wildly successful band there have been literally thousands who just perform and never give up their day job.
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Agreed, this all need a root and branch re structure, especially with Covid killing touring in the UK and many other countries
Spot on Henry.
I would have loved to have made a living playing guitar and singing … real talent is rare and opportunity is elusive.
Artists have always struggled and starved. That’s the risk you take when you try to make a living as an entertainer. Sadly a lot of the latest generation of “artists” think that repeating ten words with pitch correction over the top of a couple of Guitar Band loops makes them worthy.
That’s the key thing here. Many musicians had barely made enough to scape by, even before streaming. This included sales and live revenue. The thing has come to a head because live music is on hold and some artists are literally moving back in with their parents!
Streaming per se isn’t the problem, although it certainly exaggerates the effects and consequences. The problem is an industry wide imbalance. Like in many industries, we can all list the problems. Solutions are harder to find. Individuals can make a difference through their choices and purchasing decisions, but industries are only ever changed by wider structural actions.
Actually I do both - I stream, and if I particularly like what I hear, I purchase the download. I am spending more on digital music these days than I ever did on CDs. Part of this is that I have more time to listen, but I also blame Roon 
I expect, however, that I am in the minority.
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Same here, I do both. Spotify mainly for social features and for discovery but if I really like something I will go and buy the FLAC version. I agree we are the minority. Most of my friends / family simply want to open an app (spotify usually) and click a button to listen to some music. Easy access, minimal involvement and portability are the main criteria for them. From that point of view, streaming is definitely progress. I actually find streaming services inconvenient as they tend to constantly repeat about 20% of my library thus ‘hiding’ the rest.
I get easy access for sure when I am on the move and that is progress… but I am so bored of listening to the same things that ‘shuffle’ decides I should be listening to. Apple Music solves that problem with smart playlists but it is the only one offering real library management and I find the sound flavour fatiguing.
When I raise the above with my friends they agree but also just shrug. Definitely a minority here.
… to answer the initial question: I look forward to quitting streaming services altogether if I can have an easy to use and reliable library of digital downloads that I can take with me on the go (including library management). I would be willing to pay double for a streaming service like Tidal if they offer library management.
In a short answer yes …
But I would need to eliminate my wifi issues first
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Interesting to look at motivations and behaviours … just like there are lots of different types of artists … there are many different types of listeners.
I’m uncertain of the actual dimensions and end points but there’s at least a spectrum from the people that want to press a button and pay the least amount possible to be entertained through to those that relish the exploration and discovery of artists and new and interesting music.
I’d bet that many of the Roon community are also those that would activity hunt for new versions of songs on YouTube and pivot to see what else those artists have done … way too much effort for the average “press a button and entertain me” types 
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I think this is a great topic for a thread and makes me think of what I would do if the cost of my streaming service subscriptions doubled.
$14/mo. upped to $28/mo. to have my entire family have Apple Music? - absolutely. I would split the cost with my wife each month. She lives in Apple Music and is a playlist maestro. It is absolutely worth it for her to double that cost.
$250/yr. upped to $500/yr. for Qobuz Sublime+ for just me? This is difficult.
I would certainly do it for a year and run cost/benefit analysis at the end in order to see if the discount on Hi-res download purchases still provided enough value for me.
I buy a lot of music both downloads and CD/SACD, so I would have to see where I would direct my finite music budget.
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I am willing to pay $0.00 for streaming. Double that is therefore an option, sure.
Local library only for me, for life!
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Seems some players seem to be taking this very seriously:
As stated previously: streaming is not by definition bad for artists. It’s not the technology in itself, it’s how you use it.
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Do I expect streaming subscription prices to go up over the next few years? Yes.
Wound I pay double? No. I’d look for alternatives.
Yes, but only if the sharing mechanism was improved for the artists.
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Here’s where I climb on the soap box and complain - we talk about prices going up because someone needs/wants more money … but just like taxes, the honest people that are easy to hit do all of the paying while those that exploit a system and avoid paying continue to do the same.
Going a little of topic here but I’m frustrated to live in a world where consumers are always asked to pay more for less while corporates and governments demand to pay less for more!!
Shouldn’t we be moving to a world where we get a little more?
My library is tiny compared to what others have. Consists of my own CD rips and downloads. Qobuz have just launched where I live and I could easily increase my library with “70 million tracks”. For the sum of 15 Euro per month. That is a good price, no doubt, but I’ll pass as it is too much for me. At half of that, maybe… Double? No way…