After Coldplay’s Snub, Why Does Spotify Cling to Free Music?

When Apple Music users opened their apps this morning, they found Coldplay’s new album, A Head Full of Dreams, waiting for them. Spotify subscribers have to do without. The British rock band is the latest big act to hold a new album off the world’s leading streaming service, in the latest rejection of Spotify’s insistence that artists include their music in the free, ad-supported version of its app. “This seems to be more about Spotify clinging to its idea of free and premium being treated the same than about streaming in a broader sense,” said Mark Mulligan, an analyst for Midia Research.

The free tier was also a deal breaker for Taylor Swift, who’s become the de facto spokeswoman for the idea that the model is preying on musicians. Apple Music and, more recently, Pandora are happy to echo that point of view. “Free-to-the-listener on-demand services are driving down music’s intrinsic value by creating a ‘gray market,’” wrote Pandora Chief Executive Officer Brian McAndrews on Business Insider earlier this week. “This gray market is unsustainable.”