Tracy Chapman only buys music in "physical form" — and she's letting fans know why.

On Friday, April 4, the four-time Grammy winner, who has remained largely out of the spotlight in recent years, revealed to The New York Times in a rare interview that while she listens to new music — including material from artists like Charli xcx and Chappell Roan — she chooses not to use streaming services to do so.

"I don’t listen to as much as I used to, and I’m maybe going to date myself now, or someone’s going call me a Luddite, but I don’t stream music," Chapman, 61, said.

"I only buy music in physical form. Artists get paid when you actually buy a CD or the vinyl. That’s important to me."

Chapman then added that while her choice listening method may "limit" what she listens to — given that "it’s a physical commitment of going out into the world and finding things" — she still goes out to do so.

"I don’t know if I have anyone in particular to call out. The last Grammys, I thought that was pretty awesome, all the young women in all their variety, doing their things," she added of the artists she's drawn to, before specifically acknowledging Roan and Charli xcx.

"It’s not music that I would make, but I appreciate that we’re in this moment where there’s a path for artists like that, and they can even have success."

Elsewhere during the discussion, which largely focused on the vinyl reissue of Chapman's 1988 debut LP, the singer-songwriter revealed that she's also "still writing" music. Chapman last released her most recent studio album, Our Bright Future, in 2008.

"I’m still writing story songs," Chapman said, before clarifying the type of music she writes. "I know that I have been labeled as a protest singer, and it’s not a label that I accept. I’m not mad at it, but it doesn’t fully represent what I do or how I think about myself. I have been lucky in that I get to make a living by pursuing a creative endeavor and letting my mind go where it wants and create these characters like the ones in 'Fast Car.'"

"Because I hope everybody knows it’s not me. [Laughs] I was not, at 24, married with a couple kids — not that there’s anything wrong with that, but this is a work of fiction in that regard. I did, however, feel like I wanted to be someplace where I had connection and a sense of belonging, and that’s the thing in the song that’s me, 100 percent."

Chapman also caught up with Billboard about the vinyl reissue as part of the album's 35th anniversary last week, sharing that she has no plans to play live again after last touring in 2009.

She notably appeared made a rare public appearance at the 2024 Grammys, where she performed "Fast Car" alongside Luke Combs.

“If I were to tour, I would tour for something new, new material, and in that process, I would, of course, play these songs, too. But that would be the thing that would be most interesting to me at this point," Chapman said. "And that’s always the case. Whenever someone asks, ‘What’s your favorite song?’ It’s always the one I’m writing at the time.”

The musician added that she's also "always playing and always writing" music. "I’ve been doing it since I was 8 years old," she said. "It’s just part of my DNA. It’s part of who I am.”