Lady Gaga's New Album May Be First Loss for Apple Music After Universal's Exclusivity Changes - MacRumors
Skip to Content

Lady Gaga's New Album May Be First Loss for Apple Music After Universal's Exclusivity Changes

by

Apple Music may have lost a major exclusivity deal with artist Lady Gaga and her label Interscope, with rumors suggesting the company's streaming music service was in place to exclusively launch not only the upcoming single "Perfect Illusion," but the singer's entire fifth studio album. Lady Gaga began voicing support of Apple Music before the service even launched last year.

Interscope Records, which was co-founded by current Apple Music executive Jimmy Iovine in 1989, is one of the many labels owned by Universal Media Group. Apple's rumored exclusivity loss of Lady Gaga's new album appears to be the first ripple generated by UMG's CEO Lucian Grainge decreeing earlier in the week that the company would no longer support exclusive music streaming on any service.

apple music lady gaga
UMG's frustration with the trend appears to be a result of the launch of Frank Ocean's much-anticipated album "Blonde" last weekend. In order to fulfill his record deal with Def Jam (another UMG label), the singer released the visual album "Endless" under Def Jam Recordings. He then launched the actual, full-length album Blonde independently under his own Boys Don't Cry label, along with an Apple Music exclusivity deal of two weeks. The move is making UMG consider suing Ocean for his tactics.

It's not clear what the exclusive nature of Apple Music and Lady Gaga's deal might have been, but it's interesting to see how quickly UMG's reaction to the trend has taken effect, if the rumors turn out to be true. Although still unconfirmed, Lady Gaga's new album is predicted to debut sometime this fall, while Perfect Illusion is set for a single debut in September.

(Thanks, Thomas!)

Tag: Apple Music Guide

Top Rated Comments

ogun7 Avatar
ogun7
130 months ago
I dunno, I think it’s a good thing that exclusivity is beginning to retract - not that I care for Lady Gaga's music - but that music should be made available on many platforms and media so the consumer can purchase it and enjoy it the way they like.
Don't agree at all. This gives more control over artists to the labels. Artists get better terms and way more visibility with exclusive streaming rights. Plus, what's 2 weeks?
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
S.B.G Avatar
S.B.G
130 months ago
I dunno, I think it’s a good thing that exclusivity is beginning to retract - not that I care for Lady Gaga's music - but that music should be made available on many platforms and media so the consumer can purchase it and enjoy it the way they like.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
V
venusboy
130 months ago
Very soon, "Apple Music Label".. very soon.
Been there in 1968
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
b0nd18t Avatar
b0nd18t
130 months ago
Good. This exclusive crap needs to end.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
2
2457282
130 months ago
I dunno, I think it’s a good thing that exclusivity is beginning to retract - not that I care for Lady Gaga's music - but that music should be made available on many platforms and media so the consumer can purchase it and enjoy it the way they like.
Wouldn't it be great if the same were true for movies and tv shows? I mean the current system of movie theaters first then VOD then cable then TV then streaming (if ever) is totally off. Especially when one movie/TV show follows one path through the maze and the next movie from the same house follows a different path. and things are exclusive to a specific VOD outlet or cable channel or streaming service so there is simply no way to get anything you want in this space. At least with music, at most you wait a few weeks before you can get it anywhere.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
T
tkukoc
130 months ago
Very soon, "Apple Music Label".. very soon.
As it should be! They already have the radio streams, not hard at all to tie those into legal rights to studio time and recordings. I love the fact the industry is all ticked off about "exclusives" now.. this isn't a new thing.. but because it's Apple and the way it's being presented, they are all upset. Said it before.. and I'll say it again. The Music Business is run by dinosaurs.. they are grasping at straws and blaming everyone else for their mistakes.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Read All Comments

Popular Stories

apple music

Apple Music to Label AI-Generated Songs

Thursday August 20, 2026 4:41 pm PDT by
Apple sent emails to its music industry partners about the upcoming launch of a Made With AI label that Apple will apply to AI-generated content (via The Hollywood Reporter). Content tagged as being "materially generated using AI" will have a label visible to all Apple Music users. In March, Apple announced Transparency Tags, a system that lets music creators disclose when AI has been...
Read Full Article • 52 comments
Four iPhone 18 Pro Colors Mock Feature

iPhone 18 Pro: Pre-Orders and Release Date

Sunday August 16, 2026 8:24 pm PDT by
Apple has yet to reveal when the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone Ultra will be announced and released, but the dates usually follow a familiar pattern. As usual, the event is expected to take place in the first half of September. Labor Day falls on September 7 this year. The last time the holiday was on that day was in 2020, but the iPhone event that year was delayed until October due to the...
Read Full Article
apple camera airpods

Apple's Camera-Equipped AirPods Confirmed: See Them in Action

Monday August 17, 2026 6:21 pm PDT by
Apple is working on camera-equipped AirPods that appear to be nearly ready to launch, based on a video MacRumors found in the macOS Tahoe 26.7 release candidate. In a short demo, a man holds a book up so the camera in the AirPods can see the title. "With Visual Intelligence, your world becomes savable. See something you like? Just ask me to save it for later," says the voiceover text. Here ...
Read Full Article • 316 comments