Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) barely wasted time to fix its payment policy for its streaming service after “Bad Blood” singer, Taylor Swift, vented out her anger against the same. In her open letter to Apple, Swift noted that the company’s decision to not pay artists and labels during the three-month trial period is unfair and disappointing. Citing which, Swift said that her later “1989” album would not be published on Apple’s streaming service platform.
No free music
Earlier Apple had announced that it will not pay artists and labels royalty during the first three months of free trial period. The decision did not go down well with the music industry and artists, who argued that three months is a long time for the indie artists to wait for the compensation.
Swift wrote that Apple is well-positioned to pay artists, producers or writers the royalty that they deserve even if the company is allowing its users a free trial period. She reasoned that if artists don’t get iPhones for free then why are they supposed to provide music for free? Swift did appreciate the Apple’s effort to move towards paid streaming but desired a fair payment policy.
Apple’s quick fix
After Swift’s letter became the widely circulated post on the internet and gained support from many artists, Apple’s Senior Vice President, Eddy Cue, took no time to announce reversal in the payment policy. Cue assured Swift as well as other artists that they will not lose royalty during the three-month trial period. Cue found agreement with Swift’s thoughts as he said that her remarks pointed out the need for change in the company’s policies, which led Apple to reconsider its payment policies.
The company’s prompt response received an instant endorsement from Swift, who tweeted that she felt relieved with the decision. Following the resolution of the matter, it is likely that Swift will no longer hold her album from releasing on Apple’s platform this June 30.
Sources: BBC, betanews
