Whether you care for her music or not, you still must admire Adele's business strategy with the release of her latest album, 25. If the big money is in sales, then it makes sense not to rent out the music. And that seems to be what a streaming strategy must feel like. Like Taylor Swift, Adele has decided to limit her initial audience to a sale only strategy, from downloading tracks or the album to selling the physical CD. For now, streaming subscription music services like Pandora, Spotify, or Apple Music are not allowed to play her latest music. That means that fans must purchase and so far, the strategy has worked.
In the first week, Adele has sold 2.5 million copies of her album. With the holiday season just starting, the album is likely to continue to sell quite well. It seems like a smart way to maximize revenues, using a windowing type strategy to create a high demand through a particular output platform. And certainly, as sales begin to slow, the timing might become appropriate to add new platforms of distribution.
