Taylor Swift to keep new album off Apple Music, other streaming services for one week

Posted:
in iPod + iTunes + AppleTV edited November 2017
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.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 18
    nickdonnellynickdonnelly Posts: 2unconfirmed, member
    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.
    lamboaudi4radarthekatracerhomiemac_dogjbdragonjeffharrisjony0
  • Reply 2 of 18
    sergiozsergioz Posts: 338member
    Never heard of her 
    exsanguslamboaudi4
  • Reply 3 of 18
    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).
    slprescottJWSClolliverrevenantfotoformatcalilondon11GG1mike1SpamSandwich
  • Reply 4 of 18
    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. 
    edited November 2017 jony0
  • Reply 5 of 18
    Rayz2016Rayz2016 Posts: 6,957member
    sergioz said:
    Never heard of her 
    Yes you have. 
    cali
  • Reply 6 of 18
    Rayz2016Rayz2016 Posts: 6,957member
    “devalue her music”

    Snort!


    mac_dog
  • Reply 7 of 18
    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).
    And it’s Apple’s music service and they can do with it what they please. A good start would be to keep her new “music” off for a year. Then put it in the oldies bin.

    (There, that snarky enough?)
    edited November 2017 mwhite
  • Reply 8 of 18
    Who?
  • Reply 9 of 18
    mac_dogmac_dog Posts: 1,069member
    It’s all been (or being) said. I’m just going to utilize the like button. 
  • Reply 10 of 18
    sdw2001sdw2001 Posts: 18,016member
    Take it from a musician:  Music has become nothing but a consumable item now.  It's one streamed pop, rock or rap "song" after another.  Gone is the flow of the album.  Gone is the satisfaction of having a collection. Gone is the wonderful analog "noisy silence" between tracks.   It's just another auditory stimulant now, consumed at will and thrown away just as easily.  
    eightzerojony0
  • Reply 11 of 18
    sdw2001 said:
    Take it from a musician:  Music has become nothing but a consumable item now.  It's one streamed pop, rock or rap "song" after another.  Gone is the flow of the album.  Gone is the satisfaction of having a collection. Gone is the wonderful analog "noisy silence" between tracks.   It's just another auditory stimulant now, consumed at will and thrown away just as easily.  
    Welcome to the 1950’s! Novelty tracks and hit singles were de rigueur back when rock ‘n’ roll was young.
    jeffharris
  • Reply 12 of 18
    sdw2001 said:
    Take it from a musician:  Music has become nothing but a consumable item now.  It's one streamed pop, rock or rap "song" after another.  Gone is the flow of the album.  Gone is the satisfaction of having a collection. Gone is the wonderful analog "noisy silence" between tracks.   It's just another auditory stimulant now, consumed at will and thrown away just as easily.  
    I disagree on the album part. Streaming actually makes it more likely that you'll listen to an entire album than the a la carte purchasing method from the original iTunes music store. That model actually encouraged most buyers to cherry-pick tracks.
  • Reply 13 of 18
    jbdragonjbdragon Posts: 2,311member
    sergioz said:
    Never heard of her 
    Living under a rock? You may not like her music, but come on, I find that hard to believe.
  • Reply 14 of 18
    jbdragonjbdragon Posts: 2,311member
    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).
    I'm 100% for her doing anything she wants with her music!!!! Keep it off Apple Music. I still won't buy her album because of that. Really all it does is promote piracy for those that want her music. Stream it, not stream it. Keep it off of Apple Music forever for all I care.
  • Reply 15 of 18
    eightzeroeightzero Posts: 3,063member
    sdw2001 said:
    Take it from a musician:  Music has become nothing but a consumable item now.  It's one streamed pop, rock or rap "song" after another.  Gone is the flow of the album.  Gone is the satisfaction of having a collection. Gone is the wonderful analog "noisy silence" between tracks.   It's just another auditory stimulant now, consumed at will and thrown away just as easily.  
    While I hear your despair, this is insightful in many ways. Gone too are vinyl platters with scratches, huge folders they live in used to deseed your weed, the joys of picking lint from a needle, and the "autofeeder" that would only play one side of a record before it drops the next platter into place. Neverminnd the fade and buzz of a local FM station (or am station!) and the annoying DJs and incessant commercials hawking a local restaurant.

    Indeed much is lost in what you describe, but music was always a consumable item. I think perhaps what has changed is the choices people now have, and that their tastes for the little things you describe has been dulled. There is more music available for less cost that there was when the album ruled the roost. I specifically remember paying about $8 for an album in about 1976. Commodity? Yep. 
    edited November 2017
  • Reply 16 of 18
    edrededred Posts: 57member
    Good for her 🙄
  • Reply 17 of 18
    She’s a monster and she’s insane.
  • Reply 18 of 18
    macguimacgui Posts: 2,357member
    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.
    Agreed. I see some irony in the Reputation title although I doubt this will be an introspective release. 

    Maybe this will include a song about Hiddleston. Much of the snark that will show up here has been earned by Swift.

    Personally, I have nothing against pop and fluff and like a fair amount of it. I just don't care for Swift one bit (npi) as I think she's a shallow manipulative person who see's herself wronged and a victim of others at every turn. She doesn't do revenge porn (which might redeem her somewhat) but if 'wronged' she does a song about it. That I don't care about her pop and fluff is merely coincidental. She does have a good singing voice.

    Maybe she'll grow up. Maybe she'll become some crazy-ass super diva who's life will spin out of control. Who knows. 
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