Tracy Chapman Discusses Refusal to Stream Music: ‘I Only Buy Music in Physical Form’

As Tracy Chapman reissues her debut album on vinyl for its latest anniversary, the acclaimed musician has opened up about her preference of avoiding streaming services.

Speaking to the New York Times this week, Chapman was asked about her current listening habits, admitting that while she does still indeed check out new music, she doesn’t “listen to as much as [she] used to.”

“I’m maybe going to date myself now, or someone’s going call me a Luddite, but I don’t stream music,” Chapman explained. “I only buy music in physical form. Artists get paid when you actually buy a CD or the vinyl. That’s important to me. So to some extent, it limits what I listen to, because it’s a physical commitment of going out into the world and finding things, but I still do go out.”

Chapman’s comments come about at a rather pertinent time in her recent career. Over the past 15 years, her debut single “Fast Car” has experienced massive success on streaming platforms thanks to covers from names such as Michael Collings, Jonas Blue, and Luke Combs. 

In the case of the latter, the track topped the Adult Pop Airplay, Country Airplay, and Hot Country Songs charts, while peaking at No. 2 on the Hot 100. It also won both single and song of the year at the Country Music Association Awards, making her the first African American woman to take home a CMA award.

In June 2023, it was determined that the track had generated $500,000 in global publishing royalties across the previous three months. In February 2024, it was noted that Chapman’s performance at the Grammys resulted in a total of 949,000 official on-demand U.S. streams the day following the performance. Digital sales, meanwhile, exploded 38,400% from a negligible amount to nearly 14,000. Earlier this year, it was announced that the original track had surpassed more than one billion streams on Spotify. 

Notably, despite rises in the appetite for physical media, Chapman’s original song had long been far more accessible on streaming services as opposed to the more popular vinyl format. Part of that inaccessibility was what led to the recent reissue of her debut self-titled 1988 album on vinyl for its 35th anniversary (though it officially arrived on the 37th anniversary).

“We might have talked about it at 25 years or 30 years, and then it just seemed like, ‘OK, this is a moment to do it because people have this renewed interest in vinyl and obviously this record was so extremely important to me and my career as a songwriter,’” Chapman told Billboard recently.

Alongside her discussion of streaming services, Chapman was also asked about the current artists she appreciates, ultimately pointing to “all the young women in all their variety, doing their things” at the recent Grammys, specifically looking toward Chappell Roan and Charli XCX.

“It’s not music that I would make, but I appreciate that we’re in this moment where there’s a path for artists like that, and they can even have success,” Chapman noted.

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