Taylor Swift Convinces Apple to Pay Record Labels During Streaming Service's Free Trial Period: "I Am Elated"

 
Taylor Swift might be the most powerful person in music.
The "Bad Blood" singer wrote an open letter to Apple Music Sunday criticizing the company for not paying royalties as part of its streaming service. "I'm not sure you know that Apple Music will not be paying writers, producers, or artists for those three months," Swift, 25, wrote on Tumblr. "I find it to be shocking, disappointing and completely unlike this historically progressive and generous company."
Swift said she wrote the letter to help other musicians.
"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," she said. "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."
Swift's pals Jack Antonoff and Christina Perri publicly supported the letter.


"Three months is a long time to go unpaid, and it is unfair to ask anyone to work for nothing," the "Style" singer said. "I say this with love, reverence, and admiration for everything else Apple has done…But I say to Apple with all due respect, it's not too late to change this policy and change the minds of those in the music industry who will be deeply and gravely affected by this. We don't ask you for free iPhones. Please don't ask us to provide you with our music for no compensation."
Swift was heard loud and clear. Hours after her open letter went viral, Apple's senior vice president of internet services and software Eddy Cue announced that the company will pay artists, even during the 90-day free trial period. "We hear you @taylorswift13 and indie artists. Love, Apple," Cue tweeted. Swift tweeted about the news, writing, "I am elated and relieved. Thank you for your words of support today. They listened to us."
Swift's boyfriend Calvin Harris gave her a Twitter shout-out, writing, "I just played a gig inside a giant owl and my girl just changed the entire music industry what a day."
In an interview with Billboard, Cue confirmed that Swift's letter had convinced him to make a change. "When I woke up this morning and saw what Taylor had written, it really solidified that we needed to make a change," he said. "And so that's why we decide we will now pay artists during the trial period."
Cue said Apple had heard the same "concern from a lot of artists," noting that it was "never our intent" to not compensate them, as the company originally planned to negotiate a higher royalty rate. Asked if Apple will eat the cost of the 90-day trial period, he said, "We're certainly paying for it, yes. We're all in."
Meanwhile, Swift's music will remain unavailable on Spotify.