Streaming music's next leap forward could be 'interactive artist subscriptions'

New report pitches future of app-like album releases and monthly subscriptions for fans, with the likes of Spotify and Apple as middlemen

Music streams on services like Spotify are about to start counting towards the UK's official albums chart, but could streaming ultimately change the way albums are packaged and paid for by fans?

A new report by music industry consultancy firm Midia Research hopes so. It pitches a future of "interactive artist subscriptions" where albums look more like apps, and where fans pay artists a small amount every month for access to their music - with streaming services acting as the middlemen.

Related: Streaming music: what next for Apple, YouTube, Spotify" and musicians?

One solution is artist subscriptions within streaming services, with users paying a small monthly fee - say $/a1 - for a month's worth of artist content.

With the cost added directly to a monthly music subscription, users would get access to a curated channel of artist content including all the features of 360 music products. Artist subscriptions should, just like standalone apps, be immersive, programmed and interactive experiences, telling the artist's story to new fans and enriching it for existing fans.

Related: The future of music sales is here. So how CAN the artists make it pay?