[tunesmith]

Just a couple years ago, iTunes availability was seen as a more convenient alternative to piracy. Now apparently Spotify makes iTunes so relatively annoying that piracy is preferable. I don't really think B flows from A, not without a lot of fans being encouraged to expect music for free when it isn't really free.

iTunes isn't that much more annoying than it used to be. People just started to feel more entitled to free music, encouraged by the newer services, and paying artists less. That's why it's a long slippery slope.