Earlier this week, Taylor Swift published a Tumblr post explaining her decision to withhold her hit album 1989 from the forthcoming Apple Music streaming service. However, thanks to some quick PR work and a change of course by Apple, it appears 1989 will indeed be making its way to the anticipated new platform after all.
On Sunday, Swift explained that even though she has plenty of money, Apple’s plan to hold back three months of royalty payments during the service’s free trial would be a detriment to indie musicians. “We don’t ask you for free iPhones. Please don’t ask us to provide you with our music for no compensation,” Swift wrote.
Soon after, Apple’s Eddy Cue announced that Apple Music would be changing its plan and would pay royalties to artists even during the free trial. We now know that Apple will pay 0.2 cents per song streamed during the trial period.
Less than a week after Apple’s about-face, Swift announced she would allow the service to stream her album, 1989, which features popular hits Shake it Off, Blank Space and Bad Blood.
“After the events of this week, I’ve decided to put 1989 on Apple Music…and happily so,” she tweeted.
After the events of this week, I’ve decided to put 1989 on Apple Music…and happily so.
— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) June 25, 2015
Swift also made it clear via Twitter that — unlike Pharell Williams’ new song, Freedom — the choice to allow 1989 to stream on Apple Music was not the result of an exclusive streaming deal between the two parties.
In case you’re wondering if this is some exclusive deal like you’ve seen Apple do with other artists, it’s not.
— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) June 25, 2015
Released on October 27, 2014, 1989 is the fifth studio album by Taylor Swift. The album was released through Swift’s Big Machine Records, becoming the hottest selling album of 2014 with more than 4.95 million copies sold.
In other wins for Apple following the decision to pay up during the free trial, Apple Music made deals with two major indie music rights holders, including Beggars Group and Merlin Network, which oversee over 20,000 indie labels and distributors. Apple Music is set to debut June 30.
Available at: Apple Music
