It is no small news that Taylor Swift recently removed all her past music on Spotify, making it unavailable for streaming to Spotify users. However, her music is still available on several other websites, such as Rdio and YouTube. The main reason as to why she and her label decided to make her music unavailable for free streaming is because if it is available for free streaming then no one would buy her actual album. In my opinion, her action is justified by the fact that her music, which is her product, should be able to bring in revenue. If consumers are able to use Taylor Swift’s products for free, like any other producer, how is she going to make a living?
Taylor Swift is not the only or even the first artist who are unwilling to provide music for free streaming online. But what I believe Taylor Swift and these other artists are failing to take advantage of is the fact that free streaming can potentially contribute to publicity and popularity. By allowing free online streaming, artists can target the younger customer segments who are active Internet users. Thus, there are pros and cons as to artists making their music unavailable for free streaming online.