The day has finally come. You can now enjoy John Lennon’s full catalogue of music on the popular music streaming service, Spotify. The new inclusion was announced today and features Lennon’s eight solo albums, as well as three official compilations.
Songs like “Instant Karma,” “Imagine,” “Whatever Gets You thru the Night,” and “(Just Like) Starting Over” are now up for grabs for Spotify’s 40 million active users. They have also added the following compilations: Gimme Some Truth, Signature Box, and Power to the People. The version of Gimme Some Truth is the 4-disc anthology collection, and Signature Box includes 2 discs of non-album singles, outtakes & rare recordings.
The following studio albums are now available for streaming: John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band (1970), Imagine (1971), Some Time In New York City (1972), Mind Games (1973), Walls and Bridges (1974), Rock ‘n’ Roll (1975), Double Fantasy (1980), and Milk and Honey (1984). The only works not present in Spotify’s new acquisition are the three avant-garde albums he created with Yoko Ono between 1968-1969, including Two Virgins, Life With the Lions, and Wedding Album.
Lennon now has a well-rounded artist page on Spotify, which features a black and white photo of him from the cover of the 1997 compilation, The Very Best of John Lennon as his main thumbnail. In keeping with their bold style of copy, his bio begins rather bluntly and unexpectedly. The opening sentence cuts right to the chase, pointing out that “Out of all the Beatles, John Lennon had the most interesting – and frustrating – solo career.”
Lennon is now the fourth Beatle to be included in Spotify’s catalogue, which boasts over 20 million songs to date. Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr all have a presence on Spotify as solo artists, so the lack of Beatles music is still the elephant in the room for the service. At this time, Spotify is unable to acquire the rights to any of the Fab Four’s music, due to an exclusive arrangement they have with iTunes. Representatives of the service refused to comment when asked about the Beatles’ catalogue.