Adele Is Back With New Music. A Lot Has Changed Since 2015.

With a new single, ‘Easy On Me,’ out now and her fourth album, '30,' dropping next month, Adele dives into a music industry transformed by streaming By Neil Shah Updated Oct. 25, 2021 Tap story

The last time Adele released an album (2015's 25 ,) Barack Obama was president and streaming was a niche format that hadn’t yet taken over the music industry. Columbia Records, Cover: Phil Walter/Getty

Spotify and Apple Music initially didn’t even know whether 25 would appear on their platforms. Despite streaming’s momentum, it went on to become the second-biggest selling album of the 2010s in the U.S. (second only to Adele’s own 21 , from 2011.) Chris Pizzello/AP { "selector": ".wsj--ani-media-zoom", "duration": "3s", "easing": "ease-out", "keyframes": [ {"transform": "scale(1.03)"}, {"transform": "scale(1)"} ] }

'Easy On Me' is out now on major services and, reflecting today's industry, Adele appears to be planning to release her album next month on streaming simultaneously with physical media . More of her fanbase, which skews older and female, could also have become streamers in the interim. Kevin Winter/Getty Images for BT PR { "selector": ".wsj--ani-media-fade", "duration": "2s", "keyframes": [ {"opacity": "0"}, {"opacity": "1"} ] } { "selector": ".wsj--ani-text-slide .wsj--animation-wrapper", "duration": "1s", "easing": "ease-out", "keyframes": [ {"transform": "translateY(10px)","opacity":"0"}, {"transform": "translateY(0)","opacity":"1"} ] }

“There isn’t a bombastic ‘Hello.’ [...] That song catapulted me in fame to another level that I don’t want to happen again.” —Adele, in a Vogue interview about the new album Frazer Harrison/Getty { "selector": ".wsj--ani-media-pan", "duration": "10s", "easing": "ease-out", "fill": "forwards", "keyframes": [ {"transform": "translateX(-15px) scale(1.1)"}, {"transform": "translateX(15px) scale(1.1) "} ] }

Adele “kind of transcends the changes in the industry,” Dave Brooks, a Billboard senior director, said. When she posted a snippet of 'Easy on Me' on Instagram, there was a spike in Facebook discussion and Twitter retweets. @adele Instagram live

“Her Billboard sales may not compare to her last album, but that says more about the industry than it does about Adele.” —Dan Runcie, founder of music-business media company Trapital Gareth Cattermole/Getty { "selector": ".wsj--ani-media-zoom", "duration": "3s", "easing": "ease-out", "keyframes": [ {"transform": "scale(1.03)"}, {"transform": "scale(1)"} ] } Read more

30 —the new album, keeping in line with others named after the age she was while producing them—is slated to release Nov. 19, while the first single, 'Easy On Me,' is already available. Simon Emmett/Columbia Records Read the full story

Produced by Matthew Riva Read the full story