Well, this is interesting.
Earlier today, musician Taylor Swift took Apple to task for its decision to not pay labels and artists during the three-month free trial of Apple Music. Now, to our surprise, Apple has issued a response.
In a series of tweets, Apple senior vice president Eddy Cue promised Swift that it “will pay artist [sic] for streaming, even during customer’s free trial period.”
Snap. Here is Cue’s full response to Swift:
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Apple will always make sure that artist are paid #iTunes #AppleMusic
— Eddy Cue (@cue) June 22, 2015
#AppleMusic will pay artist for streaming, even during customer’s free trial period
— Eddy Cue (@cue) June 22, 2015
We hear you @taylorswift13 and indie artists. Love, Apple
— Eddy Cue (@cue) June 22, 2015
Last year Swift left Spotify so distraught that CEO Daniel Ek revealed the company’s financial strategy in a defensive rebuttal. Now, with a 400-word or so Tumblr post, she’s warped Apple Music’s royalties strategy.
I guess the lesson here is pretty simple: Never underestimate Taylor Swift.
