Apple Accused Of Blatant IP Abuse With New Apple Music Content

Apple has been accused of promoting artists for their new Apple Music service which they have don’t have the rights to.

Artists such as Alabama Shakes and FKA Twigs are threatening
legal action while Apple appears to be giving artists the two finger salute.
The artists claim that they don’t want to give away three months of free
content.

An AppleInsider report points out high-profile independent
artists like Alabama Shakes and FKA Twigs are all over the promotional
literature, despite their labels publicly and categorically refusing to agree
to Apple’s current terms.

Both artists are currently signed to labels under the
Beggars Music umbrella; the former is signed to Rough Trade records in the UK,
while the latter is an XL Recordings artist.

Beggars’ various labels – which are home to the likes of
Adele, Jack White, Radiohead, Queens of the Stone Age and Vampire Weekend –
issued a statement overnight stating ‘obstacles’ would need to be removed
before any accord could be struck.

The main point of contention appears to be the three-month
free trial Apple is offering to users, during which it will not pay a single
penny on royalties to the rights holders involved.

The Beggars statement, in part, reads: “We are
naturally very concerned, especially for artists releasing new albums in the
next three months, that all streaming on the new service will be unremunerated
until the end of September. Whilst we understand the logic of their proposal
and their aim to introduce a subscription-only service, we struggle to see why
rights owners and artists should bear this aspect of Apple’s customer
acquisition costs.”

On Wednesday Anton Newcombe, the front man of Brian
Jonestown Massacre claimed Apple had threatened to remove its music from the
iTunes Store if he failed to agree to the Apple Music terms.

In a series of tweets, Newcombe wrote (via Rolling Stone):
“They said we want to stream your music free for three months.I said what
if I say no, and they said, ‘We’ll take your music off iTunes.’ Hardball? F**k
these satanic corporations.”

He added: “The biggest company on earth wants to use my
work to make money for three months and pay me nothing – [if] I say no, I’m
banned… My guess is that they will come out of the gate with shit streaming
for free or low cost then blow everyone away with higher quality streams.
Devils. They shouldn’t threaten people to work for free. It’s not ok for these
f***ing idiots to decide art has no value.”

Apple has since denied the claim, via a spokesperson who
said the music “will not be taken off” iTunes.

Read more: 5 Things Spotify has that Apple Music does not

Why Apple is choosing to market the Apple Music service with
artists subscribers won’t be able to hear is somewhat puzzling. Perhaps the
company feels a deal is imminent? In any event, the service launches on June
30, so there’s still time for Apple to sign them up.