Entertainment

When Can We Expect 'ANTI' On Spotify?

by Kadeen Griffiths

Fans of Rihanna awoke with stars in their eyes on Thursday thanks to the news that the pop star had delivered unto said fans a great gift: Rihanna has released ANTI on Tidal, just in case you were beginning to give up hope that that album would ever actually manifest itself. However, some people might find themselves just as discouraged as before due to the one small note that the album is only available on Tidal, so those looking to purchase the song on iTunes or stream it for free on Spotify are out of luck. So the real question becomes when will ANTI be on Spotify? In fact, will ANTI ever be on Spotify, or are we about to be given the Adele treatment and thus denied the option of free streaming when it comes to one of the most highly anticipated albums of the year?

In general, Tidal has been pretty good about allowing the songs that debuted on the streaming service to make their way over to Spotify eventually. The most famous example at this point is Nicki Minaj and Beyoncé's "Feeling Myself," the music video for which debuted on Tidal only before eventually making its way out for wider consumption. The same applies for Rihanna's "American Oxygen" single, which is now free for purchase on iTunes and for streaming on Spotify after its initial Tidal debut. However, Beyoncé released a Tidal-exclusive track, "Die For You," that still hasn't been released anywhere else. So what are our odds when it comes to getting our hands on this album?

Incredibly high, actually. Rihanna's "American Oxygen" was released to Tidal on April 5, 2015, and then the single was put on iTunes on April 16, 2015. I think that even the most dedicated Rihanna fan can wait 11 days for her album to be available for purchase, don't you? I'm not saying the wait will be fun or be easy, but I imagine dedicated Rihanna fans already have a subscription to Tidal, thus making this a moot point. For the rest of us who are more than willing to wait until Spotify has the album, 11 days is nothing, and we can at least take comfort in the fact that it shouldn't be longer than, at most, a month before ANTI is ubiquitous as "American Oxygen" became.

Of course, that won't save you from being the last of your friends to be singing the latest Rihanna songs, so, again, it's only $9.99 for a subscription to Tidal that will save you the seemingly long wait for free streaming of ANTI.