Musician Taylor Swift has penned a post on Tumblr — titled "To Apple, Love Taylor" — explaining her decision to not allow her ridiculously successful "1989" album to stream on Apple Music.
The crux? The fact that for the first three months the streaming service will be free to users — and that artists won't be paid for what's streamed during that span. And that, the 25-year-old says, is "shocking, disappointing, and completely unlike this historically progressive and generous company."
And it's not even about her, she continues.
... 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.
Swift does leave room for reconciliation with Apple Music, however. "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 writes.
Three months is a long time to go unpaid, and it is unfair to ask anyone to work for nothing. I say this with love, reverence, and admiration for everything else Apple has done. 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.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.
Source: taylorswift.tumblr.com
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