Taylor Swift: No More Spotify

According to the Wall Street Journal, on Monday Taylor Swift removed her music from the streaming service, Spotify. Recently, Ms. Swift’s label, Big Machine Label Group, requested that Spotify release her new album on its platform only in the United States (as the label tries to grow her fan base internationally). However, Spotify did not comply, stating that all music released via its service must be available to all 58 countries that it serves. Similarly, in August, Swift’s single “Shake if Off” was released for streaming on Spotify, while the rest of her “1989” album became available last week for purchase only. Therefore, the initial rejection of Big Machine’s request may have instigated the label’s move on Monday to completely remove all Taylor Swift tracks from Spotify. Further, while most likely, the action was initiated by the label, it still is unclear whether the removal decision was made by Swift or Big Machine. Yet as album sales and iTunes revenues continue to drop, it will be interesting to see if more artists begin to remove their music from streaming services.