Aaliyah's Music Is Finally Headed To Streaming; Upsetting Her Estate

Aaliyah’s discography is finally coming to streaming after numerous false starts, but it’s a move that isn’t sitting well with her estate.

Source: Tim Mosenfelder / Getty

Since streaming has taken off, people have been able to feast upon their favorite music at the click of a button for one small fee  every month. In the old days you had to buy an entire compact disc for upwards of $18.99 for each artist. With the switch to streaming, some music was noticeably absent, most notoriously, the late singer Aaliyah’s discography.

According to TMZ the day has finally come and her music is headed to Spotify.

Thursday, Blackground Records co-founder Barry Hankerson—uncle of the late Aaliyah—confirmed a deal that will bring her discography to streaming services.

The announcement, which was preceded by a wave of social media promo earlier this week, serves as the basis for a new Billboard piece in which a rollout for multiple Aaliyah albums is confirmed. First up is One in a Million, out later this month.

The soundtrack for Romeo Must Die is up next in September, followed that same month by the 2001 self-titled album. In October, the compilation albums I Care 4 U and Ultimate Aaliyah will be released on Spotify and elsewhere.

The deal in question sees Hankerson’s Blackground Records—which owns the bulk of Aaliyah’s masters—partnering with Empire to release the label’s full catalog.

After decades of begging from fans, it’s finally happening. While the announcement is official, we all won’t believe it until the music is playing from Spotify.

Her estate isn’t pleased with this move, but unfortunately, they don’t own the rights to her music. Of course, they will urge people to not support, but with the wait that’s been endured, that probably won’t work.