As mentioned in an earlier post today, over the weekend Taylor Swift wrote a strongly worded open letter to Apple criticizing the company for choosing not paying artists during a 3-month trial period of Apple Music, and would therefor not be releasing her album 1989 on the streaming service in protest of their policy.
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 don’t ask you for free iPhones. Please don’t ask us to provide you with our music for no compensation.
Taylor
And, by God, it worked!
According to The Daily What:
Shortly after she posted the letter, Apple changed its tune on trial royalties, with senior vice president Eddy Cue announcing the news on Twitter.
“Apple will always make sure that artist[s] are paid,” he wrote. “Even during customer’s free trial period.”
Which made Taylor something of an instant internet hero. Since the announcement that Apple was bowing to her demands, fans have been tweeting her, asking her to solve some of their other problems as well.
(Photo: Pacific Coast News)
