Apple Swiftly Bows to Singer’s Argument

Sunday was full of Tweets and Facebook posts and news items everywhere about singer Taylor Swift putting her well-shod foot down with regards to an announcement that Apple would not be paying artist royalties on a new streaming service the company was hatching.

Taylor announced Sunday morning that she would be withdrawing her new album from the service, not for her own earnings, but for “the young songwriter who just got his or her first cut and thought that the royalties from that would get them out of debt.”

Apple wasted no time in responding. From CNet:

Apple Music has quickly reversed its position on royalties for artists in the wake of the high-profile protest from artist Taylor Swift. 

The popular singer-songwriter had taken to Tumblr on Sunday to tell her fans in a blog post that she would be withdrawing her album "1989" from the Apple Music streaming service when it launches next week.

When the subscription-based streaming service was announced at Apple's recent WWDC, the iPhone maker said it was offering a three-month free trial of the service for users. In her blog post Swift noted that during that trial Apple would not be paying royalties on any tracks that were streamed. 

"I'm not sure you know that Apple Music will not be paying writers, producers, or artists for those three months," Swift wrote. "I find it to be shocking, disappointing, and completely unlike this historically progressive and generous company."

The full story is here. The Washington Post adds their version here.