Adele’s hit album “25” took the music industry by storm last month. But you couldn’t find it on Spotify, Apple Music and other streaming services.
Before releasing her album on November 20, the British singer blocked the album from being streamed.
At the time, fans and the music world were curious about the decision, but Adele is finally explaining why.
“I believe music should be an event,” Adele told Time. “I don’t use streaming. I buy my music. I download it, and I buy a physical [copy] just to make up for the fact that someone else somewhere isn’t.”
Adele also said that she feels streaming is “a bit disposable,” adding “I know that streaming music is the future, but it’s not the only way to consume music. I can’t pledge allegiance to something that I don’t know how I feel about yet.”
The singer continued by saying that she was “proud of her decision” to not stream the album.
Even without streaming, Adele’s “25” was seemingly everywhere.
It sold 3.38 million copies in its opening week, which was nearly a million copies more than the previous first-week record.
“It’s a bit ridiculous. I’m not even from America,” Adele told Time about selling so many records. “Maybe they think I’m related to the Queen. Americans are obsessed with the royal family.”
In its four weeks of release, “25” has sold 5.98 million copies and has become the biggest selling album in the U.S. since Adele’s previous album, “21,” in 2011, according to Billboard.