Roger Fingas
Taylor Swift's new album "Reputation" will reportedly be held off of streaming services for at least a week — including even Apple Music, with which the pop singer has developed close business ties.
Services are still talking with Swift's associates to determine when they'll be able to host the album, according to Bloomberg sources. The streaming blackout won't affect the iTunes Store, where "Reputation" should be ready to download on Nov. 10.
Swift has been a frequent critic of streaming services, arguing that they devalue both her music and other artists. She famously wrote an open letter complaining about plans to skip royalties during three-month Apple Music trials — Apple quickly relented under pressure.
For a long time Apple Music became the only way to stream the album "1989," or simply more than a handful of Swift songs. The situation only reversed course in June this year.
Apple meanwhile used Swift in marketing, and offered up an exclusive concert video.
Swift's popularity has allowed her more control over terms than most artists. Independent musicians may sometimes be more likely to benefit from services such as Apple Music and Spotify, since they provide badly-needed exposure.
William Gallagher
Christine McKee
Stephen Silver
Charles Martin
Amber Neely
18 Comments
Please, please, please Taylor Swift - can you keep your music of all streaming services *permanently* - so kids can listen to some proper music - rather than pointless pop fluff.
Thank You.
Never heard of her
It's her intellectual property, and she can/should do with it as she pleases.
(Despite all the snark that will inevitably show up here).
There is only one objective: encourage fans to buy the album which produces a significantly higher return than what streaming services would provide. Whether or not one agrees with this practice is up to the individual. It seems they've done the maths on the best way to optimise returns without promoting piracy.
As for that whole Apple paying no royalties for 3 months thing, that is until Taylor Swift "changed their mind", clearly this was engineered for the launch of Apple Music. Not only was it a perfect media trap with two high profile brands having a public spat, but if Apple went straight to market offering to foot the bill for the 3 months trials, then the Spotify's of the world would have complained about it being anti-competitive.