There’s been some confusion about exactly how you can get your hands on Reputation, the new album by Taylor Swift, but we help clear that up.
It’s now Friday, Nov. 10 (or later, depending on when you’re reading this), which means that Reputation by Taylor Swift is here. Featuring the hit singles “Look What You Made Me Do” and “Ready For It?” as well as collaboration with Ed Sheeran and Future — yes, on the same song — it’s likely to send Swifties everywhere into a frenzy.
It’s been widely reported that Swift and her team are not sharing Reputation with streaming services like Spotify for at least a week. That’s likely a tactic to boost album sales, because more people will want to buy the album if they can’t stream it, and it’s probably going to work.
You can be one of those people right now, as Reputation can be downloaded and purchased from iTunes. The price for the whole album is $13.99.
Is this part of an exclusive deal with iTunes? It sure seems that way, as Google Play has no listing for the album (though it is selling her two singles individually), and the purchase link on Swift’s own website goes directly to the iTunes page.
If you just want to listen to the album, you do have some free alternatives thanks to iHeartRadio. That company’s stations will play one track from Reputation every hour on the hour on certain formats all day on Friday, Nov. 10. In addition, there’s a special iHeartRadio Reputation Radio station that is playing every track plus some of Taylor’s classic hits.
Next: Listen to Reputation for free here
The guess is that, like the streaming services, Google Play and other digital retailers will eventually offer Reputation as well. But for now, iTunes will benefit from being the place to go, and that should work out very well for Apple indeed.