Why Only Taylor Swift Could Leave Spotify

She operates on a different plane from the rest of the music biz

Taylor Swift’s latest business move matchesthe retro title of her new album, 1989. The erstwhile country singer has removed her entire music catalogue from Spotify, the world’s largest subscription streaming service. Swift has already been a vocal critic of music streaming, writing in theWall Street Journal that platforms like Spotify have contributed to the music industry’s ongoing financial decline.

                                                                                                                                 

The move may frustrate Swift’s fans, but it will work brilliantly for the singer, at least in the short term. The first-week sales projections for 1989have climbed steadily, and the album is now expected to have the biggest first-week sales of any album in the U.S. since The Eminem Show in 2002. Keeping her newest LP off of Spotify and other streaming services seems to have driven fans to buy the album outright. But making music available solely on a declining format is a risky strategy that requires a Swift-ian level of clout and influence.