Listeners won’t have to wait much longer to start streaming 25. The album will be available starting at midnight on June 23, giving users a chance to say “Hello” to the British songstress’ most recent album in its entirety. (Singles off 25 are already available on select streaming services.) By now, though, we suspect that most die-hard Adele fans are well-acquainted with 25 and, in fact, had a hand in her insane, record-breaking sales.
Adele proved that streaming — common as it has become — is not absolutely essential to commercial success. That may not be true for every artist, but being the superstar that she is, she sold 3.38 million albums in the U.S. in 25‘s first week, according to Nielsen Music. That massive number smashed the previous single-week sales record (2.42 million albums), set in 2000 by Nsync’s No Strings Attached, by nearly a million copies.
In the past, Adele has made it clear that she has her doubts about streaming, calling it “a bit disposable” in an interview with Time in December 2015. She has, however, allowed her previous albums, 19 and 21, to be streamed after they were initially withheld. Her system seems to work for her, and you know what they say about what “ain’t broke.”
Another saying also applies here: Better late than never. In spite of the fact that 25 has been out since November 20, streaming service users will likely be eager to play it. Her co-writers should be excited about the additional royalties presumably coming their way.
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