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Why Prince's hits are missing from Spotify
Friday, 22 Apr 2016 08:24:45
Prince — then The Artist Formerly Known As Prince — performs in Paris in 1998 (AFP: Bertrand Guay)
Prince devotees will not be surprised by the absence of his music on most major music streaming services on the day of his death.
As fans around the world seek out Prince's songs, they're finding the 57-year-old shifted his entire back catalogue away from free streaming sites, the final stand in a career-long battle against corporate exploitation.
Prince withdrew his music from all streaming services last year, moving it exclusively to Tidal, the brainchild of superstar rapper Jay-Z.
Since its inception, Tidal has pledged to pay artists fairly for their content.
Prince took a specific stand against Spotify, and re-tweeted a news article criticising free music services for not paying artists properly.
"Spotify is co-owned by record labels, who hold 20 per cent of the company stocks;" he quoted.
Prince famously released his 2010 album 20TEN in CD format, declaring "The internet is completely over", in reaction to the meteoric rise of internet piracy.
He later explained his comment as referring to the death of musicians getting paid for digital sales.
"We made money [online] before piracy was real crazy. Nobody's making money now except phone companies, Apple and Google. I'm supposed to go to the White House to talk about copyright protection. It's like the gold rush out there. Or a carjacking. There's no boundaries," he said, speaking with The Guardian in 2011.
Fans took to social media to express their support for Prince and Tidal as news of his death broke.
Seven of his classic hit singles are currently occupying the US iTunes Top 10.
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