Though the Internet is ablaze with talk about why Taylor Swift returned her entire catalog to Spotify just as Katy Perry dropped her new album Witness, sources tell Billboard the timing was coincidental – and not an attempt to steal Perry’s thunder.
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Swift’s camp has been in ongoing talks to put her music back on Spotify since she pulled it three years ago – prompted by Spotify’s refusal to let her keep her tunes off of its free tier. After the Recording Industry Association of America notified Swift’s camp her song catalog was approaching 100 million certified units earlier this week, she decided to quickly pull the trigger, sources say.
Going forward, Swift is likely to have at least some of the control she had originally sought on Spotify thanks to the streaming service’s new agreement with Universal Music Group, which allows the label’s artists to “window” their releases on the paid service before the free tier.
A rep for Swift did not immediately return a call seeking comment.