My hunch is that it is a combination of things. Looking at netflix, their move to original offerings has essentially transformed them into their own channel +

My hunch is that it is a combination of things. Looking at netflix, their move to original offerings has essentially transformed them into their own channel + some extra outside junk just to keep the line blurred. To me, the endgame there is that netflix will cease to have any outside content eventually. If spotify/tidal follows that path they become a label with their own streaming service. Maybe they don't want to go that route. Also, I imagine the technology is getting to the point where it wouldn't be unreasonable for labels to start up their own streaming services. If spotify/tidal decides they're going to be their own label, and the current labels decide they're going to start up streaming services, spotify/tidal is at a disadvantage without the back catalogs. Honestly, I'm amazed spotify is doing as well as they are considering apple, google, and amazon's offerings in the space.