Taylor Swift said that her album 1989 would not appear on Apple Music
Pop superstar Taylor Swift has raised her voice against Apple's lack of artist compensation during a free trial period. In order to protest, she has decided not to allow her latest album on Apple's new streaming service.
The step taken by the 25-year old singer, who is one of the most outspoken critics of streaming leader Spotify, delivers an early blow to Apple's bid to dominate the booming sector.
She said that the tech giant, which is launching the new Apple Music on June 30, will not pay for songs streamed during a free three-month trial period for the new subscribers.
"I find it to be shocking, disappointing and completely unlike this historically progressive and generous company," she posted on Tumblr.
Taylor, whose
1989 was by far the top-selling US album last year, insisted that she was speaking for all artists and not just herself.
"These are not the complaints of a spoiled, petulant child. These are the echoed sentiments of every artist, writer and producer in my social circles who are afraid to speak up publicly because we admire and respect Apple so much," she wrote.
She further said that her move was in part "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."
Apple holds a massive influence over the music industry through iTunes, the premier place to buy songs or albums digitally.
The company is now hoping to become a powerful force in streaming, as it watches consumes flock to unlimited on-demand online music.
Apple has not gone public with details on the pay-out structure, but is known to have been involved in intense negotiations with the major record labels.
Prosecutors in New York and the neighbouring state of Connecticut have started an initial probe on whether major labels are colluding with Apple to stop licensing content to rivals.
The singer said that her album
1989 would not appear on Apple Music, although she has stopped short on pulling her entire catalog.
Last year, she withdrew all of her music from Spotify which, controversially, offers a free tier that is supported by the advertisements.
Spotify says that in spite of its launch in 2008, it has paid back artists and has given out $3 billion in royalties.
Apple plans to charge $9.99 a month after the three-month trial.