Taylor Swift has once again made headlines following her stand against the tech giant, Apple, in relation to the latter's music streaming service to be launched soon, according to Fortune. The "1989" star posted in her Tumblr account an open letter (announced via Twitter) addressed to Apple, titled "To Apple, Love Taylor," which aimed to explain her decision to pull out her music from the service.
Swift explained that her decision to pull out her songs from Apple's streaming service was not rooted on the fact that she herself wanted more monetary gain. She clarified that this move on her part was made due to her desire to shed light on the consequences of the three-month free trial period Apple intends to offer users who will sign up for their music service. While Swift applauded the company in its massive move to help in the revolution of the music industry, she pointed out the obvious flaw of the scheme - that is, the artists, writers, producers, and everyone involved in the creation of singles will not be paid for the said duration. She then went on to describe this situation as "shocking, disappointing, and completely unlike this historically progressive and generous company."
"This is not about me," Swift wrote. "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," she added.
She continued, "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 later clarified that she has the utmost respect for the company but insisted that the new scheme will have such negative impact in the financial situation of the artists. She wrote, "Three months is a long time to go unpaid, and it is unfair to ask anyone to work for nothing." She then urged the company to review the new service and take into consideration the artists involved. She ended, "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."
Following the posting of this letter, Apple immediately responded to the concern raised by the "Blank Space" singer.
"When I woke up this morning and saw what Taylor had written, it really solidified that we needed to make a change. And so that's why we decide we will now pay artists during the trial period," said Eddy Cue, the senior vice president of internet services and software, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
With the said change, Swift once again took to social media to express her joy over the news. She posted on Twitter, "I am elated and relieved. Thank you for your words of support today. They listened to us."
