Taylor Swift holds back “Opalite” video from YouTube following removal from ‘Billboard’ charts

Taylor Swift has made a bold move by choosing to withhold her new music video for “Opalite” from YouTube as a form of protest. This decision comes after YouTube decided to stop reporting its streams to the Billboard charts. Instead of making the video immediately available on YouTube, fans will have to wait until Sunday (February 8) to access it.

The music video for “Opalite” features Domhnall Gleeson and is currently streaming exclusively on Apple Music and Spotify. The delay in its release on YouTube is a direct response to YouTube no longer providing streaming data to the Billboard charts, effective as of January 16. In a blog post from December, YouTube’s Global Head of Music, Lyor Cohen, explained that Billboard’s methodology does not accurately represent how today’s music fans engage with music. Cohen stated that Billboard’s approach places more weight on subscription-supported streams over ad-supported streams, which fails to account for the significant engagement from fans without subscription services.

For an artist like Taylor Swift, known for closely monitoring and obsessing over chart performance, this decision was likely influenced by YouTube’s decision to withdraw streaming data. Swift has shown a history of taking a stand against streaming platforms with practices she disagrees with. In 2014, she removed all of her music from Spotify due to concerns about its free tier, only returning her catalog in 2017 after presumably aligning with her ethical standards.

This move to withhold her music video from YouTube is in line with Swift’s commitment to advocating for fair treatment of artists in the music industry. By standing up for what she believes is right, Swift has once again demonstrated her dedication to ensuring that artists are valued and respected in the digital music landscape.