Taylor Swift won't put 1989 on Apple Music

(Image credit: Christopher Polk/Getty Images)

last updated 21 June 2015

Taylor Swift wrote an open letter to Apple explaining why she won't put her album 1989 on the company's new streaming service, which is set to launch June 30. In particular, she takes issue with the three-month free trial period for users because artists won't be compensated for the music played during that time. She wrote:

This is not about me. Thankfully I am on my fifth album and can support myself, my band, crew, and entire management team by playing live shows. This is about the new artist or band that has just released their first single and will not be paid for its success. This is 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. This is about the producer who works tirelessly to innovate and create, just like the innovators and creators at Apple are pioneering in their field…but will not get paid for a quarter of a year's worth of plays on his or her songs. [Tumblr]

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Julie Kliegman is a freelance writer based in New York. Her work has appeared in BuzzFeed, Vox, Mental Floss, Paste, the Tampa Bay Times and PolitiFact. Her cats can do somersaults.