In financial terms, Spotify is like a high-end mall that was just built on an earthquake fault line. Like other subscription streaming services, it’s driving the music industry’s nascent recovery with recurring revenue. But the company constructed its business in the U.S. quickly — carelessly, but apparently with the best of intentions — on the foundation of music licensing from another era. Now the tremors are coming in the form of high-stakes copyright infringement lawsuits — and Spotify’s response could shake the foundations of the streaming business even more.

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