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Spotify has stopped streaming Taylor Swift’s music at her request, setting up a business struggle between the leading provider of a new music distribution system and the industry’s most popular artist.
The move by Big Machine Label Group bosses occurred just a week after the release of Swift’s new album, 1989, which is expected to shatter sales records when Billboard chart information is released this week (begs03Nov14).
Swift and her label executives have yet to comment on the decision, but Spotify representatives have since addressed the controversy with a statement that reads: “We love Taylor Swift, and our more than 40 million users love her even more – nearly 16 million of them have played her songs in the last 30 days, and she’s on over 19 million playlists.
“We hope she’ll change her mind and join us in building a new music economy that works for everyone. We believe fans should be able to listen to music wherever and whenever they want, and that artists have an absolute right to be paid for their work and protected from piracy. That’s why we pay nearly 70% of our revenue back to the music community.”
Other Big Machine Label acts, such as Florida Georgia Line, are still featured on Spotify.
The news emerges just weeks after veteran singer/songwriter Jimmy Buffett confronted Spotify CEO Daniel Ek at a tech conference panel in San Francisco, California last month (Oct14) and demanded more money for the use of his music.
He claimed artists receive just a “trickle” of their earnings from Spotify once it has gone through record label executives.
Agencies/Canadajournal
