Apple Music Will Pay Royalties During Trial Period After All

BY Alex HudsonPublished Jun 22, 2015

This month, Apple angered the industry when it revealed that it wouldn't be giving artists any royalties during its three-month free trial period. Now, the backlash against this policy has resulted in the company changing its tactic and agreeing that it will be giving out royalties after all.

This news was confirmed in a series of tweets by Apple's senior vice-president of internet software and services, Eddy Cue. It seems that the company may have been swayed by Taylor Swift's recent open letter, in which she reasonably argued. "We don't ask you for free iPhones. Please don't ask us to provide you with our music for no compensation."

Cue's tweets were as follows. Swift was by no means the only one to decry Apple's plan to not pay artists during the trial period. The Canadian Independent Music Association called the business model "shameful," Anton Newcombe of the Brian Jonestown Massacre said Apple was "satanic," and the folks at Beggars Group said that they "struggle[d] to see why rights owners and artists should bear this aspect of Apple's customer acquisition costs."

Apple Music arrives on June 30. 

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