British singer-songwriter Adele Laurie Blue Adkins, professionally known as Adele, has released three studio albums titled "19," "21" and "25." (Photo : Reuters)
Adele's third studio album is scheduled to be released on November 20, and the music world is wondering if the Grammy, Oscar, and Golden Globe Award winner will sing with the same visceral feelings in the "25" collection of songs as her previous one. However, another big question of music executives and her millions of fans is whether the British singer's new album will be available through music streaming services including Apple Music and Spotify.
Adele's decision will have a major influence on the music industry's debate about how it should use the streaming format. Top artists sell millions of albums through downloads and CDs. If they choose to stream their new songs right away they could lose many of those money-making sales.
Adele, Beyoncé, and Taylor Swift have earned a high level of influence in the music industry due to their success. They can take bold moves that other artists often follow.
In 2011 Adele's second studio album "21" sold around 30 million copies worldwide. In the United Stations the majority of the 11 million units sold were on the CD format.
However, CD sales have had a sharp 80 percent drop during the past decade, according to The Seattle Times. Meanwhile, music streaming makes up almost one-third of record labels' annual revenue.
The industry's shift has been fast. Apple Music was launched in June of this year. In addition, Spotify's United States launch came after Adele's "21" album release date in January 2011, while Taylor Swift has battled with both music streaming services, according to Music Times.
Industry analysts project that Adele's new album could sell over 1 million copies during its first week, so she has a major decision to make during the next few weeks: to stream or not to stream.
Here is the new Adele single "Hello":
