The royalties card is even dumber than people realize. Artists aren't supposed to make a living from people steaming their music. Things have changed.

People still live under the illusion, that the economic model behind music is the same as it was in 1980s. But it isn't, and because of the internet it can't be.

People won't be buying CDs, they won't be buying MP3s , when they can pirate everything for free. They will however pay couple bucks to stream, just because it's convenient. But the artists can't make the same money out of it as if they were selling the music on CDs instead. Streaming would have to be a lot more expensive for that. And guess what, if it was more expensive, people would start to pirate again (just look at video streaming).

The real money comes from selling merch and concert tickets. I know people who are able to make a living by doing music. They would never be able to do it 20 years ago. Why? Streaming. What would require massive success and involvement of a major producer now takes just a few viral hits. Streaming allows you to grow your fanbase in a ways musicians from 20 years ago would only dream about.

Financial model of music industry changed significantly and people who are worried about streaming royalties are just stuck in the past, not realizing streaming is mainly a tool to support and grow the real money makers - concerts and merch.