The chief executive of Warner Music Group, Stephen Cooper has revealed that streaming of music now makes the company more money than downloads.

Cooper has predicted that this shift in the way in which people legally access their music will "return the industry to sustainable, long-term growth".

If his prediction is true, this is great news to an industry which has taken a considerable beating in recent years. The fact that people seem to be legally accessing their music more through streaming sites, whether it be through a paid or ad supported system means that people are turning their backs on illegal downloads and that is only going to strengthen the industry.

Cooper went on to address recent issues that have seen many artists fighting against ad-supported streaming sites and warned other big music companies not to turn their backs on such sites.

"This is an important milestone, and impressive considering the strong double-digit growth is coming on top of an increasingly significant base.

"The rate of this growth has made it abundantly clear to us that in years to come, streaming will be the way that most people enjoy music," Cooper said.

The current trend does seem to imply that he is correct and this is how people will be accessing music in years to come. The fact that services such as Spotify where users don’t directly pay a fee exist, and are becoming increasingly popular seems to scare the music industry immensely.

Previously, if music fans wanted to listen to music, they had to purchase an album or a single, or later on, download tracks from an online music store. All of this required hands to be put into pockets each time, making huge amounts of money for labels. Now there is only the flat monthly fee that subscribers to streaming services are required to cough up and although there are still royalties to be earned from this, no doubt record companies are still seeing those all-important pounds slipping away from them. Free services like Spotify see them practically swooning over the potential loss of revenue.

The fact that the CEO of Warner Music seems to have embraced that streaming, in whichever form it comes is the future of music is great because it shows hope that at least one company is accepting and isn’t trying to stunt the growth of this emerging service. It shows sensitivity towards consumers and how their habits are changing and this is progress.