Taylor Swift Songs Removed From Spotify, Company Begs For Her Return

Fans looking to listen to their favorite songs from Taylor Swift’s back catalogue on Spotify will be grossly disappointed. The artist and her label have pulled every song from the popular music streaming service – and Spotify is just as upset as we are.

In a blog post on Monday, the company pleaded for Swift to change her mind and let its users keep streaming her music.

“We love Taylor Swift, and our more than 40 million users love her even more – nearly 16 million of them have played her songs in the last 30 days, and she’s on over 19 million playlists,” the post read. “We hope she’ll change her mind and join us in building a new music economy that works for everyone. We believe fans should be able to listen to music wherever and whenever they want, and that artists have an absolute right to be paid for their work and protected from piracy. That’s why we pay nearly 70 percent of our revenue back to the music community.”

Swift has been an anti-piracy and streaming advocate for a while. Earlier this year she penned an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal in which she spoke against free music.

“Piracy, file sharing and streaming have shrunk the numbers of paid album sales drastically, and every artist has handled this blow differently,” she wrote. “It’s my opinion that music should not be free, and my prediction is that individual artists and their labels will someday decide what an album’s price point is. I hope they don’t underestimate themselves or undervalue their art.”

Swift recently released her latest album, “1989,” to overwhelmingly positive reviews from critics and fans alike. It’s worth noting that the musician’s latest album was never available on Spotify, according to Time magazine. The only song still available on the streaming service by the artist is “Safe and Sound” off “The Hunger Games" soundtrack.

According to The Verge, "1989" was on track, as of Saturday, to have the biggest first-week album sales since 2002. Billboard notes that the final sales numbers won't be released until Wednesday, but it's very unlikely it won't surpass its sales goals.

An anonymous source close to Spotify told Buzzfeed News that Swift's record label may be the real culprit. The label, Big Machine Records, is hoping to sell itself for a reported $200 million.

“They think they can get a better sale multiple by creating scarcity to drive record sales; that’s what this is about,” said the source. “But they’re only shooting themselves in the foot. Over the long term, streaming services only add value to catalog records.”

While the news is devastating for Swift fans who prefer Spotify, the company is having a bit of fun with the bad news. On Monday it released two playlists. The first is titled “What To Play While Taylor Is Away” and the second is a musical plea for her to return titled “Come Back, Taylor!”