Taylor Swift has confirmed on Twitter that after Apple decided to pay artists for music streamed during their Apple Music three-month free trial period, she will indeed be offering 1989 (her latest album release) on the streaming service.
Just to recap the series of events that led to this, Swift had initially stated that she would be withholding 1989 from Apple Music‘s catalog in protest of Apple’s decision not to pay any royalties for music streamed during the initial three-month free trial period.
Apple quickly responded, with SVP and iTunes chief Eddy Cue saying on Twitter that the company was reversing its decision, and would indeed be paying artists for tracks streamed during the extended trial.
As a result of Apple’s decision to pay for the free plays, indie labels were eager to sign up to provide their content to the service, after having originally held out (major labels had already reached agreements with Apple, however). Apple’s streaming payout rate during the trial period is reduced from its regular rate, according to the New York Times, but the royalty is still on par with what artists are paid for streams on services like Spotify’s free, ad-supported tier.
