According to the NY Times, major streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music have been told that they will not be able to stream the album upon its release Friday.
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Adele plans to keep her long-awaited new album off all streaming services, according to reports on Thursday. “If she chose to release her album on cassette tapes, it would still be the biggest album of the year”, an industry source said. Since Adele hasn’t dropped streaming entirely, it’s certainly plausible that “25” might find its way online at a later date.
Spotify sucks in every way possible. I pay in my $120 a year.
“25 leaked and it wasn’t me”, @HausofFrancis tweeted on Wednesday.
Beyonce pulled a similar move two years ago when she didn’t release her self-titled fifth studio album on Spotify, but later allowed the re-release to be streamed. It would seem that she is taking a page straight out of Taylor Swift’s playbook.
“Turns out Taylor Swift isn’t the greediest celebrity out there, it’s Adele!”. This means that, ostensibly, 25 could sell more copies than No Strings Attached, which holds the record for first-week sales in the SoundScan era. “We love and respect Adele, as do her 24 million fans on Spotify”, the Los Angeles Times quotes a statement from Spotify.
The British singer had reportedly been pushing Spotify to release her hotly-anticipated album to paying Spotify Premium subscribers alone, a move which would limit the release to 20m of Spotify’s total 75m user base.
Angry fans, however, may soon give in to buying the album as reactions from those who have purchased it so far have been positive.
Adele likely won’t have any trouble selling her album the old-fashioned way.
Adele is growing up, but she clearly has a few unfinished business with the man who broke her heart to inspire 21. When the first single became available last month, it sold more than 1.1 million digital copies.
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Though it has an impressive record to beat, many critics are projecting that 25 could have a more impactful beginning than 21, which was released in 2011 and dominated the 2011 and 2012 charts for most downloads and sales. But the song’s enthusiastic embrace only underscored the other, more pressing demand on the singer as she returns: that her music still provide its trademark catharsis.
