Apple Music and Taylor Swift - The Whole Conundrum Explained!

Not too long ago Apple unveiled a music streaming service called Apple Music. Jimmy Lovine took the stage and just talked about the basics. How a streaming service should be and blah blah! And then he compared Apple Music with other streaming service. To which Spotify's CEO reply was exceptional! Oh Ok. (Which he later deletes)

Now here is where the whole conundrum starts. In order to get more customers, Apple announced that for the first 90 days, Apple Music will be free. Brilliant move right? Yes, indeed. Those who have invested heavily in other streaming platforms would love to try out Apple Music for free. However, one thing that was not in our knowledge was the fact that for these 3 months, Apple will not be paying artists.

This came as a sudden shock to many thanks to the open letter from Taylor Swift to Apple. She said:

We don’t ask you for free iPhones. Please don’t ask us to provide you with our music for no compensation.

I’m sure you are aware that Apple Music will be offering a free 3 month trial to anyone who signs up for the service. I’m not sure you know that Apple Music will not be paying writers, producers, or artists for those three months. I find it to be shocking, disappointing, and completely unlike this historically progressive and generous company. 

This is not about me. 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. 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. 

Within few hours time Apple announced that they will be paying all the artists  during the 3 month free trial. It's absurd how one artist will work day and night on a song and Apple will use his song to make their streaming service successful while not paying the artist for his part. Streaming music isn't the easiest thing to do. But I still don't know how many people will actually ditch other music services and start using Apple Music.

Well only time will tell, but for now, I am happy with my Spotify.