Another leading artist has refused to deal with Apple and their new Apple Music streaming service
Taylor Swift has said that she will not stream her latest album on Apple’s new Music app.
The Shake it OFF star previously hit the headlines for refusing to give her album to Spotify, claiming services did not pay enough.
Now, her record company has confirmed it will not appear on Apple’s service when it launches on June 30th for a three month free trial.
Swift management however did confirm that her back catalogue will.
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Last week Apple was accused of promoting artists for Apple Music that 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.
‘Taylor Swift’s 1989, which has not been released to any streaming services, will not be available at launch on Apple Music, either, representatives for both Swift’s label Big Machine Records and Apple confirmed over the weekend.
Swift removed her entire back catalogue from music streaming service Spotify as she was promoting new album 1989, which sold 1.287 copies in its first week, just shy of Britney Spears’ record for the biggest-ever album weekly sales by a female artist (1.319million).
‘If I had streamed the new album, it’s impossible to try to speculate what would have happened,’ Taylor told Yahoo of leaving Spotify.
‘Music is changing so quickly, and the landscape of the music industry itself is changing so quickly, that everything new, like Spotify, all feels to me a bit like a grand experiment.
‘And I’m not willing to contribute my life’s work to an experiment that I don’t feel fairly compensates the writers, producers, artists, and creators of this music.’
Earlier this month Apple unveiled its long awaited music streaming service will launch on June 30th with a three month free trial period.
Called Apple Music, it will cost $9.99 per month, or $14.99 for a family membership with up to six users (although it has not confirmed Australia pricing, it is expected to be more expensive in Australia than in the UK and USA.
