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Jason Aldean’s new album will skip streaming for first month

Jason Aldean they don't knowWe’ve seen lots of artists putting their new albums exclusively on one streaming service. Country performer Jason Aldean is taking that a step further, withholding his next album from on-demand streaming services altogether for the first month after its release. They Don’t Know will be available starting Sept. 9, but only as a download or physical purchase.

Aldean has been a skeptic of the streaming economy for some time, and was a vocal supporter of Taylor Swift’s big break with streaming services in 2014. But even Swift’s decision still allowed her music to air through non-interactive platforms like Pandora. Aldean is now one of the artist-owners of Tidal, which makes his choice to forgo streaming entirely an intriguing one.

“When the new iPhone comes out, when you go to the Apple store, they’re not just handing them out for free,” Aldean told Billboard. “If you want something that’s brand new, you’re willing to pay the price for it. And then, after it’s been out for a while, you may get it at a discount. That’s just business 101.”

 

Anna Washenko

7 Comments

  1. Anna, are you implying that Aldean WONT be on Pandora? That it is possible to block non-interactive services that have agreements with SE and major PROs? Has Aldean kept publishing rights? Because on the artist/label side Pandora, Radical, and AccuRadio can play ANY song we want legally in the US… just pony up the bucks. I know you know this already, so what did I miss?

    • Tom, it’s a good point. In the context of artists withholding music, “streaming” tends to mean the on-demand services, where that choice can be made. But you are right that “streaming” has a broad meaning. I inserted “on-demand” into the article to clarify. Thanks for the comment.

  2. The article clearly says “the first month.” He will be on Pandora in October. Aldean doesn’t write his songs, so he doesn’t get any publishing money. BTW Aldean was a partner in Tidal.

    • Tracks from Aldean’s new album cannot not be withheld from Pandora. They are a non-interactive and use a compulsory licence. So look for tacks from this album Sept. 9.

    • The article has been edited to mention it’s being withheld only from on-demand streaming services.

  3. Before these streaming services came into existence, I remember new albums would be streamed on certain websites – VH1, MTV, CMT, radio stations owned by Clear Channel. Do they still do that?

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