Rihanna’s ANTI album gained a number one spot on Billboards top 100 chart the week after it was released exclusively on Tidal’s streaming service. This was achieved without Spotify or any other streaming service except Tidal.
Just 15 hours after ANTI was released on Tidal, the album was downloaded more than 1.4 million times, and by the end of its first day it has been streamed over 13 million times solely on Tidal. These numbers saw the album bag a platinum certification from the RIAA.
As this major milestone was achieved by solely being available on Tidal, one can conclude that boycotting Spotify on this occasion didn’t prevent the album from gaining its platinum status. But, what cannot be concluded is whether or not the album would have been streamed significantly more if it was available on Spotify, or whether those Rihanna fans who were signed up to Spotify went to sign up to Tidal’s free trial in order to listen.
The album is currently 27th on The Pirate Bay’s top 100 most illegally downloaded chart. By exclusively streaming the album on Tidal, which has a relatively low number of subscribers compared to Spotify it restricted listening access for a lot of people.
Some people would have signed up to Tidal in order to listen, but others who may be signed up to competing services, like Spotify will have found other (illegal ways) to listen to the ANTI album.
Adele’s ’25’
Result: #1 for 10 non-consecutive weeks on Billboard 200 chart.
Chart Placement.
Adele’s ’25’ album is nowhere to be seen on Spotify’s streaming service. But despite this, the album managed to spend 10 non-consecutive weeks at number 1 on the Billboard 200 charts.
The album spent the first 7 consecutive weeks at number 1 on the Billboard 200 chart, making Adele the first woman to have done so since 1987. To say the very least, the lack of ’25’ on Spotify doesn’t seem to have affected Adele’s chart placement at all.
Album status.
Adele’s ’25’ album went platinum in under 24 hours, all of which was achieved without being available to stream on Spotify. A lot of artists worry that by not giving their music away for free on Spotify that it will result in significantly lower streaming numbers and could ultimately affect their chances of gaining a platinum album.
But, this isn’t always the case and depends highly on whether the artist is a major player in the game, like Adele or Rihanna or an up-and-coming independent artist who would benefit by having their music more widely available. In Adele’s case, excluding her music from Spotify has not caused any detrimental effects on the success of her album.
Piracy.
It seems as though Adele fans were willing to pay for her music regardless of it not being available for free on Spotify, as the ’25’ album was not illegally downloaded on pirate sites at a volume that saw it hit any charts like The Pirate Bay’s top 100 most illegally downloaded.
Taylor Swift’s 1989
Result: Album goes Platinum in a week.
Chart Placement.
Taylor Swift famously pulled her music from Spotify as she was against the free tier and believed that it not only devalued music but shrunk paid album sales. As a result of Spotify’s premium tier, her latest album 1989 was not available on the streaming service.
1989 is Taylor Swift’s fifth studio album. The album gained global success and hit number 1 on the US Billboard 200 chart.
Album status.
The album became the first album of 2014 to gain platinum status, selling more than 1.287 million copies in its first week of release – Over half of the sales were reportedly physical as opposed to digital, according to Nielsen Music.
Piracy.
Taylor Swift’s 1989 album suffered far less piracy than other major artists in the music industry, despite popular belief that reducing the access to your music significantly increases illegal downloads. Swift’s album was pretty much immune to piracy.
Why? Because like Adele, Swift has super fans who will part with their cash to purchase her music either physically, digitally or on a streaming service through a paid subscription.
Verdict.
Looking at the artists albums who have boycotted their music content from Spotify, DMN has concluded the following…
- Boycotting Spotify will not prevent an artist from achieving a number 1 album in the charts, but it most certainly can help.
- A platinum album status can be achieved without distributing your music on Spotify.
- Boycotting Spotify could hinder an artists chances of a platinum album by gaining fewer overall streams, though artists like Rihanna, Adele, and Taylor Swift etc have been able to achieve this without Spotify.
- Boycotting Spotify could also enhance an artists chances of getting a platinum album as it may force people to download the album instead of waiting for it to be available for free on Spotify.
- Boycotting Spotify can result in higher levels of illegal downloads, unless you have a loyal fan base like Adele and Taylor Swift.