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Taylor Swift rejects Apple Music
Mon, 22nd Jun 2015
FYI, this story is more than a year old

In a letter entitled, To Apple, Love Taylor, Swift details her decision to hold back her latest album, 1989, from the tech giant's new streaming service, Apple Music.

In her letter, which she posted on Tumblr, Swift says that while she holds Apple in high regard, she doesn't agree with the service's free three-month trial being offered to users.

“Apple Music will not be paying writers, producers or artists for those three months. I find it to be shocking, disappointing, and completely unlike this historically progressive and generous company,” she writes.

“These are not the complaints of a spoiled, petulant child. These are the echoed sentiments of every artists, writer and producer in my social circle who are afraid to speak up publicly because we admire and resect Apple so much. We simply do not respect this particular call.

The singer controversially pulled her entire catalogue from Spotify last year, because the streaming service offers an ad-supported, scaled-down version of Spotify where users can listen to music without having to pay for it.

Apple Music will launch June 30th, and users will be invited to a 3-month free membership where it membership will automatically renew at the end of the trial and the payment method charged on a monthly basis.

While Apple Music will be a paid-for streaming service, Swift says the free three-month trial will hurt young artist and producers. “I realize that Apple is working towards a goal of paid streaming. I think that is beautiful progress,” she writes.

“We know how astronomically successful Apple has been and we know that this incredible company has the money to pay artists, writers and producers for the 3 month trial period… even if it is free for the fans trying it out.

“Three months is a long time to go unpaid, and it is unfair to ask anyone to work for nothing,” she says.

Swift insists it is not too late for Apple to change its mind on the free trial. “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.

She adds, “I hope that soon I can join them in the progression towards a streaming model that seems fair to those who create this music. I think this could be the platform that gets it right.