the streaming wars

Prince’s Music Is Finally Coming to Apple Music and Likely Spotify Soon

2015 American Music Awards - Show
Soon, it won’t just be Tidal. Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty Images

Ever since Prince embraced streaming in 2015 after years of shunning the internet, Tidal has been the sole hub for the majority of his catalogue. But there’s a significant shake-up in that exclusivity underway: Sources with knowledge of the deal have confirmed to Vulture that Apple Music will be bringing Prince’s catalogue to its streaming service shortly. They’ve partnered with Warner Music Group — home to Prince’s discography — to widen the accessibility of Prince’s music. Following Prince’s death, fans had to scramble all across the internet to legally stream his music; months later, Tidal added 15 more Prince albums to its already stacked collection (though whether or not they had the rights to stream any of these albums has been contested by Prince’s estate). Apple Music may not be alone in landing the Purple One: Spotify is also said to be nearing a similar deal, as evidenced by new purple ads that have popped up in New York’s Union Square this morning. Billboard reports that Prince’s music could arrive on both Spotify and Apple Music surrounding the Grammys. Spotify has declined to comment to Vulture.

Prince’s Music Is Coming to Apple Music