Unbridled data collection is a requirement for a startup? Maybe in the US, pump-and-dump-startup schemes; I like to think other countries found companies that actually do something useful.

I mean Spotify has been one of the biggest driving forces in reducing music piracy, in part thanks to being more convenient.

On the other hand, they don't pay artists nearly enough so the flipside is that to the artists it doesn't actually make that much of a difference whether someone listens to them on Spotify or just pirates the music.

No. The lack of regulation in the US is.

The solution is to firewall the internet in the UE.