NEW YORK: The music streaming service Spotify is no longer offering Taylor Swift songs at her request, setting up a battle between the industry’s most popular artist and the leading purveyor of a new music distribution system.
It means Spotify subscribers can no longer access “Shake It Off,” the service’s most-streamed song last week, or any other songs. People who want to hear Swift’s new album, “1989,” will have to buy it.
Spotify, which pulled Swift’s songs on Monday, said that “we hope she’ll change her mind and join us in building a new music economy that works for everyone.”
Swift’s representatives did not immediately return a call for comment. Many musicians have complained that the rise of Spotify and other steaming services have made a big dent in their sales.
Swift on Monday announced a tour to support the album, pencilling in 57 dates for 2015 across North America and Europe, from May 20 in Bossier City, Louisiana, to October 31 in Tampa Bay, Florida.
