Take That have done a deal with Google’s streaming service for their new album – which will not be available on rival Spotify until the new year.
The group have teamed up with Google Play Music to enable their new release, called III, to be exclusively streamed for a month from the date it goes on sale on Monday.
The trio – who lost long-time member Jason Orange this year – are also playing an album launch party for a handful of fans which is being hosted by internet giant Google in central London.
We wanted to do something different for this release and are looking forward to seeing it come to life
It comes at a time when there is heightened interest in the relationship between bestselling artists and Spotify, after Taylor Swift removed her entire back catalogue from the firm’s service just before releasing her latest album 1989.
Her action was taken to help drive sales rather than allowing people to listen to it for free, and there have also been concerns about the level of financial returns for artists whose music is featured on Spotify.
Take That’s other albums continue to be available to fans, despite the announcement tonight that their label Polydor has struck a deal with Google. It is said to be “the first time they have partnered so extensively with a digital platform”.
A statement from the group said: “We would like to thank Google Play for coming up with such a great, creative campaign around the release of an album we’re extremely proud of.
“We also wanted to do something different for this release and are looking forward to seeing it come to life, kicking off with a very special album launch party on Monday for a small number of some of our biggest supporters.”
The group – Gary Barlow, Howard Donald and Mark Owen – are also jostling to be number one in the UK singles chart this week, just a few sales behind the current chart-topper Band Aid 30’s new version of Do They Know It’s Christmas?. The track, called These Days, is just 1,500 copies behind the charity single according to midweek data released by the Official Chart Company.
Levine, the vice president of Google Play Music, said of the deal: “We’re thrilled to partner with Take That, and to offer Google Play Music fans an exclusive opportunity to stream this incredible album.
“Both download sales and streaming are growing on our service, so we’re delighted to see Gary, Mark and Howard embracing Play Music to bring their fans a unique experience.”
Announcing the deal, Take That said the exclusive streaming on Google would be a deluxe version of the album and would include “three bonus tracks that will not be available on any other streaming or download service”.