Coldplay withheld its last album, Ghost Stories, from Spotify for four months after releasing the physical and digital versions. For the one before that, Mylo Zyloto, the wait was three months. For the band’s seventh studio effort, A Head Full of Dreams, the wait will only be a week. Spotify has confirmed to BIllboard that Dreams will be made available to stream on Friday, Dec. 11.
The subtle announcement — confirmed by a spokesperson — was delivered on Coldplay’s Spotify page, saying the new album “will be available from Friday 11th December. Come back then to listen.”
Given the band’s track record, it came as no surprise that they initially avoided Spotify, with its policy of making all albums available regardless of subscription type. For users of paid-only subscription services, like Apple Music, Amazon Prime Music and Google Play, Dreams was there from the start.
The strategy to encourage purchases over streaming appears to be working in the band’s favor. In the U.K., Dreams sold around 160,000 copies at the mid-week mark, and is leading Adele’s 25 by a margin of 2,000 units, according to the Official Charts Company.
Coldplay’s decision to acquiesce will make it hard to lump them in with Adele and Taylor Swift, who have taken issue business-wise and philosophically with Spotify and streaming more broadly. Adele is keeping the full 25 from all services, a marketing decision that has panned out well for her. Her previous albums, 19 and 21, have long been on Spotify. Swift’s problems with Spotify run deep and she has pulled her entire catalog from the service, though it can be found on Apple Music, all the way up to 1989.
