Taylor Swift returns to Spotify on same day that Katy Perry drops new album Witness

Fans speculate the timing is no coincidence

(Getty Images)

Taylor Swift has re-released her music on Spotify, three years after boycotting the service.

Her management shared the news on Twitter, explaining that she would release her entire back catalogue of songs to all streaming services including Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music and Deezer, at midnight on 9 June.

"In celebration of 1989 selling over 10 million albums worldwide and the RIAA's 100 million song certification announcement, Taylor wants to thank her fans by making her entire back catalogue available to all streaming services tonight at midnight."

The announcement has been met with an ecstatic reaction from fans, but many have also been quick to point out that Swift has stolen Katy Perry's thunder in a pretty big way.

Perry has just released her new album Witness, and tickets for her headline UK tour have also gone on sale.

The two pop singers have an infamously frosty relationship, with Perry recently confirming that they had fallen out over backing dancers in a chat with James Corden on Carpool Karoake.

It's about backing dancers,” she said. “It's so crazy! Ok, so there are three backing dancers that went on tour with her, right? And they asked me before they want on tour if they could go and I was like, 'Yeah of course, I'm not on a record cycle! Get the work! She's great! But I will be on a record cycle in about a year, so be sure to put a 30-day contingency in your contract so you can get out if you want to join me when I say I'm going back on.'”

She continued: “So that year came up, right? And I texted all of them, because I'm very close with them, and I said, 'Look, just FYI, I'm about to start, I want to put the word out there'. And they said: 'Alright, we're going to talk to management about it.' And they did. And they got fired. And I tried to talk to her about it, and she wouldn't speak to me.

Corden clarified whether Perry had tried to call Swift, to which Perry responded: “I do the right thing anytime it feels like a fumble, and it was a full shutdown. And she writes a song about me! And I'm like, 'Oh, cool, cool, cool. That's how you wanna deal with it? Karma'.”

“Can we take the beef off the grill?” Corden asked.

"I think personally that women together, not divided, none of this petty s***, women together will heal the world,” Perry answered.

Yet Perry has continued to make digs at Swift during interviews promoting her new album, most recently suggesting she could not turn the other cheek when someone "tries to assassinate my character with little girls".

Swift's return to streaming services has likely been in the works for some time, but the timing seems rather deliberate.

The launch date for Perry's album Witness was first announced about a year ago and it has been one of the most-hyped releases of the year.

The Independent has contacted Swift's representatives for additional comment