Why Taylor Swift pulled her catalogue off Spotify

Taylor Swift. AP

Taylor Swift has not been shy about voicing her distaste for the free distribution of music in the past, but her team dealt a heavy blow to streaming service Spotify on Monday. Just one week after the release of her latest album 1989, all of her albums have been yanked from Spotify. According to Rolling Stone, one source said Swift’s Label, Big Machine Music, made the decision without negotiating with Spotify, and that it’s tied to a potential sale of the label. Spotify, an ad-supported streaming service with the option to pay $5 or $10 to eliminate ads, has issued a plea to the songstress. “We love Taylor Swift, and our more than 40 million users love her even more - nearly 16 million of them have played her songs in the last 30 days, and she’s on over 19 million playlists,” Spotify said in a statement.

“We hope she’ll change her mind and join us in building a new music economy that works for everyone,” the statement continues.

“We believe fans should be able to listen to music wherever and whenever they want, and that artists have an absolute right to be paid for their work and protected from piracy. That’s why we pay nearly 70% of our revenue back to the music community.”

The service also included two custom playlists, the titles of which say “Hey Taylor, we wanted to play your amazing love songs and they’re not here right now. We want you back with us, and so do do do your fans” when together. Swift’s reps have not yet responded to request for statement. It’s no wonder Spotify is begging to get back together with Swift. 1989 is expected to sell more than one million copies in its first week of release. Earlier this year, Swift wrote in an op-ed, “Music is art, and art is important and rare. Important, rare things are valuable. Valuable things should be paid for.” It also took months for her previous album, Red, to appear on Spotify after its release in 2012. Currently, Swift’s music remains available on other such streaming services.