Garth Brooks has enjoyed a long and decorated career as a country music singer-songwriter. The Oklahoma native has released over 20 records, and is the best-selling solo artist in U.S history, amassing over 150 million album sales.
Why is Garth Brooks not on Spotify?
Despite the music industry moving more towards digital platforms like Spotify, Garth Brooks’ music has not been added to the streaming service. This is because Brooks has retained control of his back catalog, and doesn’t feel that Spotify’s ideas align with his own.
Although the majority of popular artists choose to add their music to Spotify, or their record label makes the decision for them, there is a surprisingly large number who decide against this.
Their reasons vary – some may feel that the idea behind streaming platforms is not beneficial financially to artists, while others may have a specific issue with a certain platform.
Why is Garth Brooks Not on Spotify?
Country music icon Garth Brooks has broken many records – including becoming the only artist to ever have nine albums certified as diamond status in the USA. With this level of success comes the freedom to make decisions about your career that perhaps a lesser-known artist would not be able to.
Fans of Garth Brooks are unable to enjoy his extensive back catalog on popular streaming platforms, like Spotify, leaving many of them frustrated and disappointed. Brooks has resisted the calls to allow his music to be featured on these digital services, instead preferring to do it the “old way” by selling CDs and vinyl records.
Brooks did however sign an exclusivity deal with Amazon Music in 2016 and stated that he did so because his vision for how he wants people to consume and enjoy his music is shared by the company.
The deal between Amazon Music and Garth Brooks means that the country megastar cannot be featured on Spotify or other streaming platforms until it has expired, which is the main reason that his music cannot be streamed anywhere else.
The question is, why did Brooks choose to neglect the likes of Spotify and Apple Music in favor of an exclusivity deal with Amazon Music? It’s highly unlikely that the motives were financial, considering the huge success that he has had as a recording artist, songwriter, and touring musician.
At a 2017 appearance at SXSW festival, Brooks stated that his views simply did not align with Spotify or Apple Music, but Amazon Music “seemed to correlate with the views we shared.”
Garth Brooks has a great deal of power over his music, which is the reward that artists are often only able to enjoy when they reach a certain amount of success.
He isn’t in the position to need to compromise on his ideas and views for his art, which explains why he has resisted joining Spotify. Whether this will remain the same after his exclusivity deal with Amazon Music runs its course is yet to be seen.
For now, if you’re a fan of Garth Brooks’ music, you’ll have to either sign up to Amazon Music or go to your local record store like the good old days!
Check out this YouTube video to learn more about Garth Brooks
Which Other Artists Are Not on Spotify?
Many other notable artists either are not on Spotify at all or only have a very limited amount of their work on the streaming platform. Let’s take a look at some of the best-known examples.
In early 2022, several artists chose to pull their back catalogs from Spotify due to controversy surrounding one of its most popular podcasters, and the streaming platform’s refusal to remove them.
Neil Young was one of the artists who requested that Spotify remove their music from its platform, which was a disappointment for his millions of monthly listeners. Young stated that by leaving Spotify, he would be sacrificing around 60% of his online streaming income.
This led to Young’s former bandmates, Crosby, Stills & Nash also removing their music from Spotify. They stated their solidarity with their ex-band member as the reason for their departure from the streaming platform.
Folk-rock icon Joni Mitchell also removed her music from Spotify in January of 2022, for similar reasons to Neil Young and Crosby, Stills & Nash. However, there are still five of Mitchell#s 19 studio albums on the streaming platform.
Artists Who Boycotted Spotify in the Past
In addition to the artists that have refused to allow their music to be used on Spotify, there are some that either only have a limited number of songs or albums on the platform, or they previously turned down Spotify but have since struck a deal with them.
Hip-hop mogul Dr. Dre signed an exclusivity deal with Apple Music, which means that only his iconic “2001” album is available on Spotify. There are songs produced by Dr. Dre for other artists, like Eminem, 50 Cent, or Kendrick Lamar on Spotify though.
Jay-Z is the owner of rival streaming platform Tidal, so it makes sense that none of his solo work is included on Spotify.
Other than the above examples, most popular artists have their music on Spotify as it is the biggest streaming platform in the world and offers them a great deal of exposure and opportunity, despite many debates over the pay artists receive from the platform.
Related Questions
Is Garth Brooks on any streaming service?
Garth Brooks’ music is only on one streaming service – Amazon Music. Brooks controls the rights to his entire back catalog barring the 2014 album, “Man Against Machine”, and he chose to sign an exclusivity deal with Amazon Music for all his other work.
How much does Spotify pay artists?
Spotify pays between $0.003 and $0.005 for every stream that an artist’s music receives on the platform. This has been criticized by many musicians and artists who claim that they should receive more money per stream.
How does Spotify verify an artist?
Artists can submit for verification by going to their Spotify for Artists page and clicking on “Claim Your Profile”. This will start the process of getting their Spotify profile officially verified by the platform.
