Have you heard the news?

…Coldplay, who is known for wanting and having complete control of their music, announced today that they are no longer offering their music to streaming sites like Spotify and Rdio.

….Those close to Coldplay say the band is trying to keep the entire album,”Mylo Xyloto”, intact rather than breaking the tracks up for separate listening. I’m not sure if that’s a valid reason, simply because you can easily create a Spotify playlist of an entire album. Once you purchase an album on any service, you can listen to the songs in any order.

…Is Coldplay missing out on finding new listeners and fans for life? The band wants to service its hardcore fans, but with the socialization of music thanks to Facebook and open graph, it’s a bandwagon that will be tough to hop off of… (via TNW)

This is a money squeeze, plain and simple. Coldplay know that they are the biggest band on earth right now. They know that Spotify, while a great service, hasn’t become as ubiquitous as the band themselves. Coldplay have sold more than 50 million records since 1999. That number should be inflated by about 30-40 million had piracy not cut out their profits. That means that they are pop cultural icons now. Spotify is still a baby when it comes to influencing huge numbers of people.

It’s a smart money move for Coldplay to not indulge the streaming services right now. Will they’ll hold this position forever? Probably not. But for now, if you’re a fan you’ll be buying (or mediafire-ing) their record.

Does that mean you should follow Coldplay’s lead? Heck no! This is a special band that gets to play by their own rules. For most artists these steaming services will continue to be a good idea.

Music Consciousness
Voyno