In a series of tweets representing a change of stance for the company, Cue clarified that Apple will always make sure that artists are paid.
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
Up until today, the company had seen a backlash from indie artists and other music industry representatives for not paying artists during the three-month free trial period of its upcoming streaming service.
Until now, the company’s reasoning behind its move was that it is paying a slightly higher fee than industry average per streamed song after the trial period is over in order to make it up for that extended trial period. That didn’t play right with many artists who believed Apple wanted to promote its new service by taking advantage of musicians.
The movement really gained traction when pop artist Taylor Swift published an open letter in which she basically claimed that artists, big and small, don’t want to work for free, something completely understandable. Although her back catalogue is going to be available on Apple Music, her new album will not.
Now I’m curious to see whether this will be enough for Taylor Swift to make her latest album available on Apple Music.
Apple Music will be available in over 100 countries on June 30th, along with iOS 8.4. It will feature a streaming service, a live radio station, and a social network for artists to connect with their fans.
