Actually we need to remember, that there could be alternatives for end-users (in this case - listeners), but it's not about them. It's about artists, which deserve to have a possibilty to get revenue from their work and not being used by music industry. It's a brand in a good meaning of what it represents.
Btw, here's a list if Epic sins:
https://libredd.it/r/Games/comments/av9976/everything_thats_wrong_with_epic/
Okay, so it wasn't just me seeing that something is not right. Thank you for that huge post and explanation - you've putted lot of effort to wrap things up. But, still - I don't know why you are getting so many downvotes here, really.