Coldplay’s Mylo Xyloto has snuck on to Spotify after shunning the streaming music sphere since its release in October last year, writes MusicWeek today. It appears that (at the time of writing) MX has not appeared on rival streaming music services such as Deezer and rara.com, nor has any official statement been made from the band or Spotify itself. The album lands only days after the back catalogue of Bob Dylan – another streaming stay-away – was made available to Spotify users. More discussion on this news is at the Coldplay/Spotify thread in the Coldplay forum now. [thanks filiprasmusson & _Tash]
Continuing the news, TheNextWeb website wrote: "Back in October, we pondered whether Coldplay’s decision to say no to streaming was a good or bad thing for the UK band. Whatever the right answer may be, the band’s latest album has finally appeared on the music-streaming platform. As Music Ally reports, Mylo Xyloto went live on Spotify some time this morning, though no official announcement has been made yet.
As we reported a few months back, a source at Coldplay’s record label, EMI, said that the company was “a little embarrassed” by the band’s decision to not release its album on Spotify and other music-streaming sites. It’s thought that Coldplay has been trying to keep its Mylo Xyloto album, which was launched last October, intact and playable in its entirety, rather than breaking the tracks up for separate listening. Though as we noted at the time, once you purchase an album on any service, physical or digital, you can listen to the songs in any order and as standalone tracks.
Whilst Coldplay’s back catalog has always been available on Spotify, it seems the intention was always to delay the new album’s launch on the streaming platform, to help maximize sales elsewhere – including on Apple’s iTunes Store. Indeed, the album was heavily promoted on iTunes when it was launched. Coldplay’s manager Dave Holmes has argued that the album would’ve sold far less copies if it had been available on Spotify from the start, though he has previously indicated that it would eventually make it on to streaming sites.
Also reporting on Spotify today were the Sydney Morning Herald, who wrote that Spotify is the most successful music subscription service in the world, and is growing fast, but there is a question over whether this surge can continue. It has 3 million paying users – up from 1 million in March last year, and is the market leader in a fast-growing sector. But it is beset by criticism. Spotify is clearly still trying to convert users from the free, ad-supported model to paying for the service. More than 20 per cent of its active users pay for the service and, helped by that, Spotify has paid $US150 million ($142 million) in royalties to music labels and publishers.
However, the problem is that $150 million is not a lot when divided up between all the recording artists on its service. A number of smaller, independent artists have also criticised Spotify for its perceived low payouts. Mercury prize-nominated Jon Hopkins caused a stir in November, for example, with a tweet claiming he had been paid just £8 ($12) for 90,000 plays of his songs on Spotify.
The company is fighting back. Ken Parks, its chief content officer, says there is "not a molecule of evidence that there is any cannibalistic effect" on iTunes sales. In fact, he suggests that the album holdouts are harmful. "They are punishing the people they need to embrace: the 18- to 24-year-olds, who were previously paying very little or nothing at all."
Nevertheless, the danger for Spotify is that more high-profile artists will look at the sales of the albums that were not available to stream last year – Adele's 21, in particular – and see cause and effect: they sold so well because they were not on Spotify. A domino effect of album holdouts would hamper the company's drive to sign up more paying subscribers this year and beyond.
Spotify's new apps platform may help. Inspired by Facebook, it enables developers to create applications that live within Spotify's own desktop software, building new features on top of its streaming music catalogue. Mr Parks believes artists will start launching their own Spotify apps this year. Spotify also sees its close partnership with Facebook as important. Users who link their Spotify and Facebook accounts are three times more likely to become paying subscribers – and the company suggests that artists who keep their albums off Spotify are missing out on the viral buzz. [article ends]
Want proof that Mylo Xyloto is now on Spotify but can't/don't use the service?
Don't forget to check out your tour discussion thread if you are getting Coldplay tickets or just getting excited for the European & North American 2012 shows:
FEBRUARY 2012
7 Los Angeles, CA @ Jimmy Kimmel Live [discussion] [NEW!]
8 Los Angeles, CA @ Club Nokia (iHeartRadio) [discussion] [NEW!]
12 Los Angeles, CA @ 54th Grammy Awards, Staples Center [discussion] [NEW!]
15-16 Sydney, Australia @ 2DAY FM and Sunrise (intimate shows) [discussion] [NEW!]
MARCH 2012
4 New York, NY @ The Secret Policeman's Ball, Radio City Music Hall (Amnesty International) [discussion] [NEW!]
APRIL 2012
17 Edmonton, AB @ Rexall Place [discussion]
18 Calgary, AB @ Scotiabank Saddledome [discussion]
20 Vancouver, BC @ Rogers Arena [discussion]
21 Vancouver, BC @ Rogers Arena [discussion]
24 Portland, OR @ Rose Garden Arena [discussion]
25 Seattle, WA @ KeyArena [discussion]
27 San Jose, CA @ HP Pavilion At San Jose [discussion]
28 San Jose, CA @ HP Pavilion At San Jose [discussion]
MAY 2012
1 Los Angeles, CA @ Hollywood Bowl [discussion]
2 Los Angeles, CA @ Hollywood Bowl [discussion]
4 Los Angeles, CA @ Hollywood Bowl [discussion] [NEW!]
18 Porto, Portugal @ Dragao Stadium [discussion]
20 Madrid, Spain @ Estadio Vicente Calderón [discussion]
22 Nice, France @ Stade Charles Herman / Nikaia [discussion]
24 Turin, Italy @ Olympic Stadium [discussion]
26 Zurich, Switzerland @ Letzigrund [discussion]
29 Coventry, UK @ Ricoh Stadium [discussion]
JUNE 2012
1 London, UK @ the Emirates Stadium [discussion]
2 London, UK @ the Emirates Stadium [discussion]
4 London, UK @ the Emirates Stadium [discussion]
7 Sunderland, UK @ the Stadium of Light [discussion]
9 Manchester, UK @ the Etihad Stadium [discussion]
10 Manchester, UK @ the Etihad Stadium [discussion]
22 Dallas, TX @ American Airlines Center [discussion]
23 Dallas, TX @ American Airlines Center [discussion]
25 Houston, TX @ Toyota Center [discussion]
26 Houston, TX @ Toyota Center [discussion] [NEW!]
28 Tampa, FL @ St. Pete Times Forum [discussion]
29 Miami, FL @ American Airlines Arena [discussion]
JULY 2012
2 Atlanta, GA @ Philips Arena [discussion]
3 Charlotte, NC @ Time Warner Cable Arena [discussion] [NEW!]
5 Philadelphia, PA @ Wells Fargo Center [discussion]
6 Philadelphia, PA @ Wells Fargo Center [discussion]
8 Washington, DC @ Verizon Center [discussion]
9 Washington, DC @ Verizon Center [discussion]
23 Toronto, ON @ Air Canada Centre [discussion]
24 Toronto, ON @ Air Canada Centre [discussion]
26 Montreal, QC @ Bell Centre [discussion]
27 Montreal, QC @ Bell Centre [discussion]
29 Boston, MA @ TD Garden [discussion]
30 Boston, MA @ TD Garden [discussion]
AUGUST 2012
1 Auburn Hills, MI @ Palace of Auburn Hills [discussion] [NEW!]
3 East Rutherford, NJ @ Izod Center [discussion]
4 East Rutherford, NJ @ Izod Center [discussion]
7 Chicago, IL @ United Center [discussion]
8 Chicago, IL @ United Center [discussion]
11 St. Paul, MN @ Xcel Energy Center [discussion]
28 Copenhagen, Denmark @ Parken Stadium [discussion]
30 Stockholm, Sweden @ Olympic Stadium [discussion]
SEPTEMBER 2012
2 Paris, France @ Stade de France [discussion]
4 Cologne, Germany @ Rheinenergie Stadium [discussion]
6 The Hague, Netherlands @ Malieveld [discussion]
12 Munich, Germany @ Olympiastadion [discussion]
14 Leipzig, Germany @ Red Bull Stadium [discussion]
16 Prague, Czech Republic @ Slavia Eden Stadium [discussion]
19 Warsaw, Poland @ National Stadium [discussion]
22 Hannover, Germany @ AWD Arena [discussion]
Read also: European Stadium Tour announced! (general discussion thread for the Europe tour)
Read also: North America Tour announced! (general discussion thread for the US/Canada tour)
Read also: 2012: Live Appearances - Easy Thread Finder (last updated - 12th January 2012)
Read also: 2012 tour date rumours (please post dates for ALL countries in here)
Kit yourself up for the forthcoming MX tour and get spotted with Coldplaying's new range of merchandise! [click on the items for the full shop]
The new range of Coldplaying merchanise (unofficial of course to the official shop) has hit our stores, with our biggest range of goods so far. Prices are as low as they can be for a Cafepress shop so more people will be able to afford them. We don't take any profits for the sale of the merchandise as a result. Take a browse in one of the online stores nearest to you: UK | US | Canada | Australia | European (shipping is worldwide, but you can choose what currency to pay in) - simply alter the country dropdown menu at the top of the shop page. [thanks to TracieMorgan and zzz]
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