• Apple Caves in to Taylor Swift's Criticism, Will Pay Artists During 3 Month Free Trial of Apple Music

    by
    Anthony Bouchard
    Published on 2015-06-22 05:38 AM
    6 Comments Comments


    On Sunday, the popular music entertainer Taylor Swift wrote a long public message to Apple via her Tumblr account explaining why she has decided to hold her hit album 1989 from the new Apple Music streaming service.

    Swift explained that because Apple would not pay artists during the three month free trial period that users can opt into, it could limit the potential revenue of artists just starting up during the most impactful period of their careers, which is when their first hit album could be what sets them off. Holding her album from Apple Music is Swift's way of boycotting Apple's policies and sticking up for the smaller guys that would otherwise have had very little impact on Apple's decision.

    Despite everything, Swift's hard words appear to have had an impact on Apple's decisions.

    Eddy Cue, Apple's senior vice president of Internet Software and Services, Tweeted late Sunday night that Apple has changed its policies and will now pay artists even during the three month trial period that customers can opt into:



    This is great news for everyone. This means that all artists will get paid for their work, that music listeners will have more artists to listen to, and that Apple can make both parties happy. It's effectively a win/win/win situation, while still allowing users to enjoy the three month free trial that Apple will offer.

    Apple Music will launch with iOS 8.4 as a part of the redesigned Music application later this month. After the three month free trial is up, Apple Music will be a monthly subscription service, like Spotify, that users will have to pay to use. It offers additional perks, like behind the scenes information about bands, that other competitors don't offer, which is sure to gain traction for music-lovers.

    Source: Eddy Cue
    This article was originally published in forum thread: Apple Caves in to Taylor Swift's Criticism, Will Pay Artists During 3 Month Free Trial started by Anthony Bouchard View original post
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    Comments 6 Comments
    1. cmwade77's Avatar
      cmwade77 - 2015-06-22, 06:44 AM
      They only partially caved and are paying artists, what about the indie writers and producers that she has also talked about?
    1. zachfawaz's Avatar
      zachfawaz - 2015-06-22, 03:32 PM
      Taylor Swift has no idea how Apple works. Her letter was just a sad attempt to get attention. She is just a small speed bump in what will me a major revolution in music. Apple Music.
    1. peacedog's Avatar
      peacedog - 2015-06-22, 04:13 PM
      I'm an Apple fan like all of you. And I'm not much of a Taylor Swift fan. But I think it's wrong for Apple to offer a free trial to consumers and then not pay the artists. This free trial is an "Apple offer" and not an "artist offer". Apple needs to incur the expense as marketing costs.

      Kudos to Taylor Swift to standing up to Apple. She probably makes very little money off selling music, but instead makes most of her money on concerts and selling promotional items. But a lot of smaller artists rely on these residuals.
    1. feidhlim1986's Avatar
      feidhlim1986 - 2015-06-22, 06:19 PM
      Quote Originally Posted by zachfawaz View Post
      Taylor Swift has no idea how Apple works. Her letter was just a sad attempt to get attention. She is just a small speed bump in what will me a major revolution in music. Apple Music.
      Um, I think this shows she very much does know how Apple works and got her way.

      Revolution? Are you serious? Cool-aid much?
    1. thazsar's Avatar
      thazsar - 2015-06-23, 03:47 AM
      Quote Originally Posted by zachfawaz View Post
      Taylor Swift has no idea how Apple works. Her letter was just a sad attempt to get attention. She is just a small speed bump in what will me a major revolution in music. Apple Music.
      Sorry but I'm pretty sure she doesn't need to try and get attention; she's one of the top musicians in the world. And since she did it on her own, she prolly has a pretty good idea of how the industry worx. So, that 'speed bump' was big enough to make Apple put on its brakes!!!

      BTW, if iTunes Radio is any indication of what Apple Music will be, then get ready for disappointment. I love Apple products but I just don't see this working for them (what is this, their 3rd attempt at the same thing?!).
    1. CZroe's Avatar
      CZroe - 2015-06-24, 01:15 PM
      Next up: Is she going to try and force broadcast radio stations to play full albums? Seems odd to single out streaming services as she does.

      I buy full albums almost exclusively and make an effort to listen to each as a complete album when I am not exploring the library, but I wouldn't say that radio stations have to serve it up that way so I wouldn't say that streaming service should either.

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