Fans of Aaliyah's Music Have Been Waiting Years for It to Hit Streaming Services

Fans of the Princess of R&B Aaliyah know that she passed away in August 2001. Twenty years after she died in a plane crash, she still continues to inspire new generations of artists and her music is still played on the radio. Over time, different streaming services have started to feature her songs, but one major platform is still missing almost all of her albums.

Many fans are wondering Aaliyah's music largely isn't available on Apple Music. Last year, it was announced via her Twitter account, which is now controlled by her estate, that her songs would be streamable. The post, which was made on August 25, 2020, said that her music would be on different platforms "in the near future," but that hasn't quite happened yet.

Right now, fans are assuming that the reason most of Aaliyah's music hasn't been added to Apple Music is likely because negotiations haven't been finalized yet.

Her estate posted on Twitter to update fans on Jan. 15, 2021, the day before what would have been her 42nd birthday. The post indicated that the process of releasing her music to different platforms in general was taking longer than they expected.

"While we share your sentiments and desire to have Aaliyah's music released, we must acknowledge that these matters are not within our control and, unfortunately, take time," Aaliyah's estate tweeted. "Our inability to share Aaliyah's music and artistry with the world has been as difficult for us as it has been for all of you. Our priority has always been and will continue to be Aaliyah's music."

For now, no other updates have been given on when Aaliyah's music will be released, and plenty of fans have been frustrated that after all this time, there's no word on when all of her albums will be released. One person tweeted in response to the estate's Jan. 2021 tweet saying, "Y'all do this every other year," with a GIF of Aaliyah looking annoyed. On the thread, a lot of fans are blaming an unnamed uncle saying he's delaying the process.

Depending on the streaming service, you can find some of Aaliyah's music to listen to. But no one place has all of it. YouTube Music has her album Age Ain't Nothing But a Number and her EP Back and Forth. Other platforms like Spotify, Pandora, and more also have some of her older music, but Aaliyah had hits toward the later part of her career as well that aren't on there.

Artists like Drake and Chris Brown have also made music with Aaliyah's previously recorded tracks after her death and those songs are available to stream. And a number of her singles are scattered across different services.

If fans don't mind watching videos, they can search YouTube for music that other fans have uploaded. But that doesn't mean Apple Music doesn't have any of Aaliyah's songs. Right now, subscribers to that platform can listen to Age Ain't Nothing but a Number, but that's the only album available. Fans are still waiting for all her other projects, including One in a Million and Aaliyah, to hit the streaming service ASAP.