Taylor Swift Not Releasing 'Reputation' For Streaming

Taylor Swift may not make her new album Reputation available via services like Spotify when it is released this Friday (November 10).
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According to The New York Times, four executives that represent major streaming services do not feel confident that Reputation will not be made available on their platforms later this week, all the more baffling considering that streaming services now account for more than two-thirds of the recording industry's revenue.

Swift, who previously had her music scrubbed from Spotify, finally made her catalog available on the site in June, in what seemed to many like a direct attack on Katy Perry, whose Witness dropped the same week. Swift previously likened streaming to an unproven gamble for artists, and in 2014, said she was against the streaming trend in an opinion piece for The Wall Street Journal.

"Piracy, file sharing and streaming have shrunk the numbers of paid album sales drastically, and every artist has handled this blow differently," she wrote. "It’s my opinion that music should not be free, and my prediction is that individual artists and their labels will someday decide what an album’s price point is. I hope they don’t underestimate themselves or undervalue their art."

Swift's label, Big Machine, has declined to comment, proof of the influence Swift wields in the industry, one source said.
“Taylor Swift is one of the few artists who has the combination of star power and fan cultivation to truly drive how her music is consumed,” said Vickie Nauman, an industry consultant and former digital music executive.

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