The world, and probably Katy Perry, collectively freaked out on Friday when it was discovered that Taylor Swift re-released her whole catalog to Spotify, Apple Music and Tidal.
Swift made the decision to pull her music from streaming services in 2014, as she was “not willing to contribute my life’s work to an experiment that I don’t feel fairly compensates the writers, producers, artists and creators of this music.”
But, oddly enough, on the day her rival Perry released her new album, “Witness,” Swift’s team made their big announcement.
“In celebration of ‘1989’ selling over 10 Million Albums Worldwide and the RIAA’s 100 Million Song Certification announcement, Taylor wants to thank her fans by making her entire back catalog available to all streaming services tonight at midnight,” a statement read.
Thing is, Swift’s music has been available on streaming services for months now. You just might not have been looking in the right place.
Exhibit A: Ryan Adams.
The musician’s cover of Swift’s critically acclaimed and beloved album “1989” never left Spotify or other platforms. And to be honest, some ― including myself ― prefer his take on the lyrical gems. Swift herself praised Adams and his work on her hits like “Out of the Woods” and “Blank Space.”
“Actors say a line, say a sentence, but they say it with different emphasis on different words and they completely change it. That’s what you did with my album,” she told the “Prisoner” singer.
“I was listening to that record and thinking, ‘I hear more,’” Adams told Rolling Stone of his decision to record “1989” in his own style. “Not that there was anything missing. I would just think about the sentiments in the songs and the configurations.”
He added, “It wasn’t like I wanted to change them because they needed changing. But I knew that if I sang them from my perspective and in my voice, they would transform. I thought, ‘Let me record “1989” like it was Bruce Springsteen’s “Nebraska.””
Adams turned Swift’s songs into timeless lullabies, focusing more on the emotions behind the lyrics rather than the ‘80s beats. His version peaked at No. 7 on the Billboard chart and earned himself and Swift some nice pocket change. “Blank Space” had over 21 million listens on Spotify alone.
So if you’ve been desperately craving Swift’s catalog on streaming services, maybe you were missing out on listening to Adams’ “1989” on repeat. (If you did just that, bravo!) You could have also played songs like Little Big Town’s “Better Man,” Kellie Pickler’s “Best Days of Your Life,” Miley Cyrus’ “You’ll Always Find Your Way Back Home,” and, infamously, Calvin Harris and Rihanna’s “This Is What You Came For,” all of which Swift wrote.
Happy you’re back online, TSwift tunes, but glad we had Ryan Adams to hold us over.
Before You Go
