Nicki Minaj Says Spotify Retaliated Against Her After She Debuted Her Latest Album on Apple's Beats 1 Radio [Updated]

[MacRumors]

Earlier this month, hip-hop artist Nicki Minaj debuted her latest album "Queen" on her new Beats 1 radio show "Queen Radio," just minutes before its wider release. And, by the sounds of it, that didn't make Spotify very happy.

In a series of tweets on Sunday, highlighted by Digital Music News, Minaj said Spotify retaliated by electing not to promote the album on its platform during its first few days of availability, as it had promised. Meanwhile, she said Drake, who has had a Beats 1 show since 2015, is highly promoted on Spotify.

Spotify put drake's face on every playlist but told me they'd have to teach me a lesson for playing my music 10 mins early on #QueenRadio. Even tho they've been giving away my music for free for years & I am one of the top Spotify artists of all time. - QUEEN (@NICKIMINAJ) August 19, 2018

Spotify had to teach me a lesson but rewarded the man who has had an Apple radio show the longest; inadvertently helping the Apple platform the most. Oh I can't wait for #QueenRadio on Tuesday. They took away my promotion they had promised for the 1st cpl days b/c of this. #Queen - QUEEN (@NICKIMINAJ) August 19, 2018

#Queen the album is coming at 9AM PT / 12PM ET!!! @NICKIMINAJ just announced it on #QueenRadio! https://t.co/nXJLMVkpTZ - Beats 1 (@Beats1) August 10, 2018

Minaj said she "can't wait" for the next episode of Queen Radio this Tuesday, presumably to speak further about Spotify's alleged retaliation.

A few years ago, The New York Times reported that Spotify instituted a policy where music that has benefitted from promotional deals on other platforms may not be prominently featured or included in as many playlists on its service.

Executives at two major record labels said that in recent weeks Spotify, which has resisted exclusives, had told them that it had instituted a policy that music that had benefited from such deals on other services would not receive the same level of promotion once it arrived on Spotify; such music may not be as prominently featured or included in as many playlists, said these executives, who spoke on the condition of anonymity in order to discuss private negotiations.

Bloomberg also reported that Apple Music exclusives may be "buried" in Spotify search results, which Spotify said was "unequivocally false."

Several artists have debuted albums exclusively on Apple Music, at least for a brief period, including Drake, Frank Ocean, Dreezy, Taylor Swift, Katy Perry, and Chance the Rapper, and it would appear that Spotify isn't pleased, as streaming platforms, record labels, and artists fight over rights in an evolving industry.

Update: Spotify said it "supported Nicki Minaj with a Times Square billboard, a host of the largest playlists, New Music Friday and the new music release shelf," in a statement issued to Variety. "Her song 'Bed' actually saw an increase based on the promotions put behind the campaign. The company continues to be big fans of Nicki."

Article Link: Nicki Minaj Says Spotify Retaliated Against Her After She Debuted Her Latest Album on Apple's Beats 1 Radio [Updated]

 

[jsmith189]

Or maybe people just didn't care enough to listen and that's why your sales are lower than you had anticipated.

 

[Shanghaichica]

Is she such a sore loser.

It doesn't matter if you didn't go to number one. Get over it.

http://thatgrapejuice.net/2018/08/n...umbers-declares-herself-1-america-with-queen/

Nicki Minaj Rejects Travis Scott’s Billboard Numbers / Declares Herself #1 In America With ‘Queen

 

[Mike MA]

Basically all that needed to be said was stated in the first two replies. Thread closed.

 

[Jakewilk]

Shady stuff. Can’t see how Spotify gets any benefit out of doing that, though. Sounds petty

 

[Cindori]

So let me get this straight

• Apple/Spotify wants artists to debut on their service
• They offer publicity and prominent advertising on their platform in exchange for a debut
• The artist decides to debut on Apple Music instead
• The artist is furious that she doesn't get the special treatment and publicity when she later publishes on Spoitfy

Have to side with Spotify here.

 

[78Bandit]

Now she's using a perceived Spotify slight as a basis for promoting herself. It is working as both MR and AI have picked up the story.

The couple of reviews I saw said it was a directionless bunch of songs she appeared to have recorded with no emotion just as a way to get a new album out. Maybe Spotify didn't promote it because it just wasn't that good.

 

[dtrj787]

All of the childish crap is stupid. It's business. If they had a deal to promote her album and didn't, then she can just sue.

 

[69Mustang]

Basically all that needed to be said was stated in the first two replies. Thread closed.

How so? Neither of the first two replies have anything to do with the topic of the article. She claims Spotify retaliated for Apple exclusivity. Neither quote addresses that issue.

 

[Abazigal]

Come join Apple Music.

 

[Shanghaichica]

How so? Neither of the first two replies have anything to do with the topic of the article. She claims Spotify retaliated for Apple exclusivity. Neither quote addresses that issue.

Sounds like sour grapes and excuses to me.

 

[asdavis10]

If there was a contract (with no clause about artists promoting or having an exclusive on another platform) in place for the promotion of the album and Spotify broke that, then Nicki is in the right. If not, then hard to see how Spotify is wrong. If they don't want their user-base to see music from a certain artist then that is their business decision. Users still have choice as to where to find music.

 

[timber]

This isn't sour grapes or anything.

Minaj is just getting herself some free advertising. You don't get to be famous just by being a good performer.

 

[69Mustang]

Sounds like sour grapes and excuses to me.

Where are you getting sour grapes? Seems like quotes from the NYT and Bloomberg lend credence to her claim. I have no skin in the game. I don't Minaj. But neither your quote nor jsmith's counter her argument. You both simply bring in a separate claim as evidence of what I don't know. Could she be sour or petty? Don't know.

 

[Tech for Kings]

So let me get this straight

• Apple/Spotify wants artists to debut on their service
• They offer publicity and prominent advertising on their platform in exchange for a debut
• The artist decides to debut on Apple Music instead
• The artist is furious that she doesn't get the special treatment and publicity when she later publishes on Spoitfy

Have to side with Spotify here.

So, you admittedly side with petty pathetic retaliation? Wow, and there are actually high numbers of people who don’t understand why this world is so pathetically screwed up... look no further than people like this world.

 

[Sefstah]

Release your music on all platforms at the same time like everyone else. Don’t get caught in the middle of the music streaming war.

 

[one more]

Sounds quite petty to me. Does it even matter nowadays which streaming platform gets your album first? Sooner or later everybody ends up on all of them anyway. The fact is that both streaming platforms and artists equally need one another for their success/income, so that current “issue” with Spotify is just an extra publicity trick.

 

[laz232]

just tried listening to a few songs.

my take: this is fake controversy suggested by her publicist as promotion to make up for a tedious, uninspired hip-hop album

 

[Jimmdean]

In an effort to continue not ever making any money Spotify attempts to piss off anyone that could ever potentially make them money...

 

[Bin Cook]

So, you admittedly side with petty pathetic retaliation? Wow, and there are actually high numbers of people who don’t understand why this world is so pathetically screwed up... look no further than people like this world.

You’ve only Niki Minaj’s word to go on. The world is screwed up because ppl only listen to one biased side of a story and accept it as truth.

 

[KGB7]

People still listen to her garbage??

 

[sundog925]

i can't help but wonder if her music was good, this wouldn't be an issue.

 

[mtneer]

No publicity is bad publicity..

 

[Starship67]

Who?

 

[Scottsoapbox]

Sounds like she is hoping this fake controversy will get her some sales that her music couldn't get by itself.