British singer Adele’s much-anticipated album 25 will not be available for streaming on any digital music services, including Spotify, Apple Music and Deezer, the companies said.
Apple Inc confirmed 25, released on Nov 13, will not be available to stream on Apple Music. It did say in a statement that Adele’s latest single “Hello” will continue being available for streaming, and that it was “thrilled to offer” the album to buy on its online store iTunes.
Spotify also confirmed that its followers would not have access to the new album.
“We love and respect Adele, as do her 24 million fans on Spotify. We hope that she will give those fans the opportunity to enjoy 25 on Spotify alongside 19 and 21very soon,” the company said in a statement.
Tyler Goldman, chief executive, North America, of music streaming company Deezer told Reuters that the service would not offer 25 at launch.
Adele’s representatives declined to comment on the decision.
A music industry source said Adele’s XL Recording label had decided to withhold25, expected to be the biggest album release of 2015, from streaming platforms when it is released. The New York Times first reported the move.
“She’s benefiting from paid subscriptions, but she’s using this as an opportunity to try and sell more CDs or downloads,” Deezer’s Goldman said. “If all artistes did this, we wouldn’t have the growth in subscriptions we have.”
Other streaming services, including Pandora and Google Play, could not immediately be reached for comment.[related-posts]
Adele’s 25 is the first by the singer since 21 in 2011, which sold more than 30 million copies worldwide.
25 had been expected to sell more than 1 million units in North America in its first week, according to estimates by Billboard magazine.
The move by Adele and her management mirrors Taylor Swift, one of the most powerful names in pop music, who refused to offer her 1989 album to streaming services last year, saying music should not be free. She did put the album on Apple Music in July, after it agreed to pay artistes during a free trial.
1989 became the biggest-selling album in the world in 2014 with estimated sales of more than 8.5 million copies.
Swift’s decision to withhold 1989 did not have a material financial impact for streaming services and neither will Adele’s, said Goldman. “One individual artiste is not going to change the inevitability of streaming,” he said.
[The Star]
