This is simply the first time it s felt right in my gut to stream my album. Thank you, Apple, for your change of heart.
— Taylor Swift, pop music star/streaming-music royalties activist, tweets that she has decided to put her latest album, 1989, on Apple Music — and happily so.
Apple s streaming music service is set to launch June 30, after much publicity brought on by its original plan not to pay royalties during the service s three-month free trial period. The change of heart by Apple to which Swift refers, of course, is the one prompted by her open letter to the company over the weekend. In the letter, she urged the Silicon Valley giant to reconsider, saying its plan was unfair to artists. As we wrote this week, Apple reversed course, saying it listened to Swift and indie labels who had voiced similar concerns. The indie labels have since struck a deal with Apple.
Swift last year pulled her album and entire back catalog from the largest streaming service, Spotify. She said then that she felt Spotify s free-streaming tier — which the company says helps attract paying subscribers — perpetuates the perception that music has no value and should be free.
With Swift s decision to make her album available on Apple Music, it sure looks like the company has benefited from what at first seemed like a PR nightmare. As my colleague Michelle Quinn wrote, Apple has now positioned itself as the seemingly fair middleman in the streaming industry.
Photo of Taylor Swift by Dan Steinberg/Invision/Associated Press
