Thanks to Taylor Swift, Apple Music will Pay Royalties During Trial Period

Apple responds to Taylor Swift’s open letter with a swift course of action, giving new and established artists the royalties they rightfully deserve.

Image via Dave Hogan/Getty Images

What Apple thought was a smart move to lure new customers to its latest music streaming service, Apple Music, by offering a free three-month trial period, worked against them, thanks to the revelation that artists who host their work on Apple Music would not be paid royalties during the trial period.

This did not sit well with Taylor Swift, one of the biggest pop stars around, and she swiftly (no pun intended) responded with an open letter to Apple.

In her letter, Swift said, “We don’t ask you for free iPhones. Please don’t ask us to provide you with our music for no compensation.” She gave credit where it was due, recognizing that Apple has been “working towards a goal of paid streaming” and that she would gladly hop on board should they be “the platform that gets it right”.

This is not the first time she has voiced her concerns over royalties and free music; the artist took her music off Spotify last year citing royalty issues as well. As she once told The Wall Street Journal, “valuable things should be paid for…it’s my opinion that music should not be free”.

Thanks to Taylor Swift, Apple’s Senior Vice-President of Internet Software and Service, Eddy Cue, acknowledged her concern and made necessary amendments, deciding to pay record companies and its artists royalties for using their music during the trial period. Specific details have not been revealed yet, but emerging and established artists will have Swift to thank when they are paid their dues.

Apple Music is set to launch worldwide on June 30^th.