Universal reportedly outlaws streaming 'exclusives' after Frank Ocean release (Edward Helmore - @guardian) https://t.co/hbgtSychtn
— MediaREDEF (@MediaREDEF) August 23, 2016
-According to Bob Lefsetz, of (an important industry newsletter)The Lefsetz Letter, Lucian Grainge, CEO of Universal Music Group has reportedly ordered the company's labels to stop giving exclusives to streaming services.
-Universal will be the first label to do so.
-Will impact artists such as Drake, Taylor Swfit, The Weeknd, Kanye West, Nicki Minaj
-Bob Lefsetz, argues that streaming companies' (read: Apple Music's) exclusive deals with artists is anti competitive and harms both the artist and consumer in the end. “Apple Music is a me-too product that works badly that’s locked behind a paywall and the music industry wants it to be the dominant platform so the fan is squeezed and indie acts are pushed down to the bottom where they belong.”
-Lefsetz on artists who sign exclusive deals: “Shame on you Frank, and shame on everybody else who takes money from Apple and screws fans. There’s enough money in music without taking every last buck, and the joke is on you, for thinking so short term, you want your music available to everybody, because in these days of information overload we need nobody, everybody is superfluous, you don’t want to enter the marketplace with one hand tied behind your back,” he wrote.
source
tbh i feel like exclusive deals do harm artists bc instead of buying the album some people will just torrent it and instead of getting the little money that they'd get from all the streaming companies, the artist is literally only getting apple music streaming money. and i know they get $$$ for the exclusivity, but it's not right imo. anyway, i wonder if this means taylor swift will be forced into spotify lmao
