Apple Music is cutting back on one of its defining characteristics: album exclusives. In a recent interview with Music Business Worldwide, Apple exec Jimmy Iovine said that the streaming service plans to be less aggressive about obtaining exclusives in the future. “We tried it,” he said. “We’ll still do some stuff with the occasional artist. The labels don’t seem to like it and ultimately it’s their content.”

Back in 2016, The Wall Street Journal reported that labels were losing enthusiasm for streaming service exclusives, which they felt could be detrimental to an album’s overall streaming numbers. If a new album was only available on one particular platform for the first two weeks of its existence, as Apple Music’s exclusives were, it…

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