User:Jsmahl/sandbox

Contributed to the Spotify page.

Withheld Content

In May 2014, Coldplay withheld their new album Ghost Stories from Spotify. Currently, instead of being able to listen to the new album, Spotify users are greeted with this message after searching for it: "The artist or their representatives have decided not to release this album on Spotify. We are working on it and hope they will change their mind soon." This same message also currently appears on The Black Keys' new album Turn Blue , as well as Beyonce's most recent self titled release. This isn't the first time Coldplay has kept a new release from the popular music site. In October 2011, they released their 5th studio album Mylo Xyloto and initially withheld it from Spotify. It wasn't until 4 months later, in February 2012, that the band finally allowed Spotify subscribers to stream their album. The band sold 447,000 copies of the album in its debut week, and it became their 3rd album to debut at number one, along with becoming the most purchased rock album of 2011. While the band has never released a statement explaining their decision to withhold their albums, through other artist's criticisms of Spotify's pay-out model, it is clear that Coldplay, and other world renowned acts, want to make their new releases exclusive, at least initially, to those that are willing to pay for it.

Adele's record breaking album 21 wasn't initially available to be streamed on Spotify after it's release in January 2011, because Spotify turned down her and her label's proposal for who her album should be available to. According to many sources, the singer wanted Spotify to make her album only available to subscribers, and not to those that use the site without a subscription. Spotify declined her offer, because it didn't want to create separate catalogs for subscribers and non-subscribers. The album became available to stream in June 2012, after it won many grammy's and became one of the best selling albums worldwide.

Several bands from the 1960s and 1970s do not have their music available on Spotify. Some of the most notable bands are the Beatles and AC/DC. Until the end of 2013, the music of Led Zeppelin was also not available to be streamed. Negotiations between Led Zeppelin's representatives and streaming sites stretched out for most of 2013, with Spotify ultimately emerging as victor for the band's work. The band's deal with Spotify is exclusive, meaning their work can't be streamed on any competing streaming sites, which is similar to how iTunes struck an exclusive deal to sell music from the Beatles.