Now Taylor Swift has weighed in on the debate in a Tumblr post, saying she’s a fan of Apple’s approach in general but thinks the three-month trial policy is a mistake. The singer-songwriter is putting most of her back catalog on Apple Music but her latest album, 1989, won’t be present (it’s missing from every other streaming service too).
“Apple Music will not be paying writers, producers, or artists for those three months [of the trial period],” writes Swift. “I find it to be shocking, disappointing, and completely unlike this historically progressive and generous company … Three months is a long time to go unpaid, and it is unfair to ask anyone to work for nothing.”
The post isn’t a complete exercise in Apple bashing, however. Swift says she has “love, reverence, and admiration for everything else Apple has done” and thinks that Apple Music “could be the platform that gets [streaming music] right” — provided they pay up, that is.
“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,” she adds. “We don’t ask you for free iPhones. Please don’t ask us to provide you with our music for no compensation.”
“These are the echoed sentiments of every artist, writer and producer in my social circles who are afraid to speak up publicly because we admire and respect Apple so much,” says Swift. Whether her criticisms will be enough to change Apple’s stance at this late stage remains to be seen — Apple Music is launching alongside iOS 8.4 on June 30.
Via The Next Web
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