After releasing a surprise single with no warning or promotion earlier today, Prince has just made another grand-but-quiet move by removing his music from all streaming services except one. As Radio.com points out, Prince unceremoniously opted out of Apple Music, Spotify, and Rdio while leaving his catalog up for grabs on Tidal, the same service he used to stream his Baltimore concert "Rally 4 Peace" in May (for free).
So far there's no explanation from Prince himself on the matter but given how aggressively he's regulated his music's availability online through the years the move shouldn't come as a complete surprise. According to Radio.com, Spotify's placeholder page for Prince offers a vague description for the removal: “Prince’s publisher has asked all streaming services to remove his catalog. We have cooperated with the request, and hope to bring his music back as soon as possible.” The news is yet another piece in the rapidly-growing arms race for exclusives among streaming services.
