Prince Changed Steven Wilson's Aversion To Streaming

(Prog) Steven Wilson allowed his music to become available on streaming services after he performed a live tribute to Prince the day he died - and realised a large part of the audience didn't recognise the music.

Wilson this month released his solo catalogue via Apple Music, Spotify, Google Play, Deezer and Tidal, after years of holding out against the platforms.

He'd decided his concerns over digital distribution were outweighed by the importance of having his music heard. Wilson tells PopMatters: "When Prince passed away I was in Vienna with my band. We heard about a half hour before we went on stage.

"I was very affected by that - Prince, for most of the 80s, was my number-one musical hero. That night I tried to do a little tribute.

"I remember introducing the song, and it became obvious that about 50% of the audience didn't really know who Prince was. Maybe they'd heard the name and a couple of hits, but that was about it. I asked myself, 'How could that be?'"

He concluded that Prince's aversion to streaming services had been a major factor. "I think that affected his mainstream profile - that's why a lot of young people didn't know much about who Prince was. Most of his music was unavailable." Read more here.

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