Adele: The full story

She had done a Taylor Swift and withheld 25 from the likes of Spotify, Apple Music and Google Play. Streaming - as she has said and the stats suggest- might be the future, but it is not her present.
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The album's launch was straight out of Steve Jobs's handbook. Control everything, withhold information, build up anticipation, never break cover, keep the message simple, and treat your product's arrival as if it is a major event. Don't worry about feeding the wider media machine. It will gorge itself quite happily on scraps. Adele is up there with Star Wars, Grand Theft Auto, and Apple Corp, as a masterful promoter of her brand.
http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-35152397