For now, both Adele’s 21 and 19 albums, as well as 25’s lead single, “Hello”, are available on Spotify.
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Adele’s first album in almost five years is hitting store shelves Friday, but fans shouldn’t expect to find it on Spotify or Apple Music.
Artists, however, were earning less than one cent per play through a few of these services, which is why Swift withdrew her music.
Swift in July agreed to put 1989 on Apple Music, days after it did an about-face and agreed to pay artists during a free trial of its new streaming music service.
ITV News in the United Kingdom also wrote that someone posted a link to a digital copy of the album to Twitter on Tuesday night, but that it, too, was taken down within minutes. Apple exec Eddy Cue quickly reversed the policy.
The move by Adele and her management mirrors Swift’s refusal to offer her album “1989” to streaming services.
That means she is projected for first week sales of 2.5 million copies, which will set a new record for fastest sales.
The decision wouldn’t be a huge surprise, given Adele’s new album is being released by XL Recordings, a vocal critic of the new streaming-centric landscape.
Billboard magazine estimated last month that 25 could sell up to 1.8 million units in North America alone in its first week of sale.
Her Grammy and Brit Award-winning album 21 has sold more than 30 million copies worldwide since it came out in 2011.
Even if it doesn’t beat it’s predecessor 21, Adele’s new album, 25, will slay records and act as a very profitable return for the British singer. They recognize her singularity and work hard to uphold it, to help fill these songs with as much Adele as possible.
But if “Hello” is any indication, fans will have no problem supporting the singer by buying her album.
Debates continue to rage over the fate of streaming music services, which operate with either an ad-based free model or a premium monthly charge model.
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Detailed fan data is valuable to musicians and record labels seeking corporate sponsorships and advertising placement for their music-revenue streams that are critical as record sales fall.
