The artist’s move comes after Dr Dre and AC/DC added their music to streaming services despite having shown reluctance to do so in the past.
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Prince, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame superstar and public enemy of music streaming, has pulled his music from services like Spotify and Rdio without explanation.
Tidal, which was re-launched by Jay Z earlier this year and has tried with mixed success to win audiences through exclusive content, is now the only streaming service which carries the Purple Rain singer’s music. Just past year, Prince had deleted his social media presence on Facebook and Twitter.
Despite that, he still is maintaining another online presence through his continued use of Soundcloud. Google Play Music also told TechCrunch that they have not been asked to remove anything so Prince’s songs remain for the time being. In late June he tweeted a link to an article on The Daily Beast that detailed how record labels own 20 percent of Spotify’s stocks.
Apple Music was unleashed into the wild this week and, as you might expect with anything Apple, it didn’t come quietly.
Call it the Taylor effect: it looks like another high-profile musician is sharpening his arrows to take aim at how streaming music services pay artists.
Perhaps ironically, streaming critic Taylor Swift’s latest album “1989” dominated the top of the charts with two million physical copies sold, but only a mere 188,213 streams following her rather vocal protest with Spotify. “My problem is when the industry covers the music”, he said in an interview with George Lopez. I think there should be an inherent value placed on art.
“This Tidal thing is all about the music”.
Streaming, which offers unlimited and on-demand music, has given rise to a debate from countless artists who felt they were not adequately compensated. I think that people should feel that there is a value to what musicians have created, and that’s that. You can download and subscribe right here, too.
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However, Prince can’t keep his songs from streaming everywhere. What are your thoughts on Prince’s decision to remove his music from Spotify and other streaming services?
