Taylor Swift has been a busy girl this week. She’s been in Scotland performing and she also managed to take on, and win, a battle against one of the biggest companies around, Apple.
Apple senior executive Eddy Cue announced via Twitter that Apple Music will pay artists during the service’s free, three-month trial period.
The reversal of policy comes one day after Swift penned a letter to Apple Music on Tumblr titled “Dear, Apple. Love, Taylor.” In the letter, Swift called out Apple and explained why her latest album, 1989, would not appear on Apple Music when it debuts on June 30.
“I find it to be shocking, disappointing, and completely unlike this historically progressive and generous company. This is not about me. Thankfully I am on my fifth album and can support myself, my band, crew, and entire management team by playing live shows. This is about the new artist or band that has just released their first single and will not be paid for its success. This is about the young songwriter who just got his or her first cut and thought that the royalties from that would get them out of debt. This is about the producer who works tirelessly to innovate and create, just like the innovators and creators at Apple are pioneering in their field… but will not get paid for a quarter of a year’s worth of plays on his or her songs.”
“We hear you @taylorswift13 and indie artists,” Cue wrote on Twitter. “Love, Apple.”
“I am elated and relieved,” Swift wrote on Twitter. “Thank you for your words of support today. They listened to us.”
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