Streaming platforms TIDAL and Spotify confirmed Thursday that Aaliyah’s discography is on its way to their platforms.
For years, conflicts between the Aaliyah estate and her uncle Barry Hankerson have prevented her music from being placed on streaming services. However, rumors swirled recently that the music would soon become available to her fans. On Thursday, Hankerson confirmed that the late singer’s catalog would be featured on TIDAL and Spotify.
Spotify took to Twitter and shared a graphic showing the timeline of releases. On August 20th, Aaliyah’s debut album “One in a Million” will be available, followed by her self-titled project on September 10th. Lastly, her final album, “I Care 4 U,” will be available on October 8th. TIDAL also shared a social media post noting that Baby Girl’s music will be on their platform starting August 20.
During a recent interview with Billboard, Hankerson attributed the music’s hold to his sister, Diane Haughton, Aaliyah’s mother. He says that Diane did not want the music released to streaming platforms, so he “tried to do what she wanted me to do.”
“As a parent, I would understand if she did not want the music out. Because who wants to hear the voice of your daughter who’s gone? So when she said that to me, I said, ‘OK, we’re not putting it out. I don’t know when, but one day we will.’”
However, the estate released a statement shortly after the news began to spread suggesting that the release of Aaliyah’s music was being done so “without any transparency or full accounting.” This left many to believe that another battle between Hankerson and the estate is brewing, which could further delay the release of the music.
For fans of Aaliyah, having her songs available to stream would mean the world to the many lives that she touched. Let’s hope that all parties can agree.
