Apple Now Says It Will Pay Artists During Customer Free Trial

The company confirmed to News that its new streaming service will pay royalties. Apple Senior Vice President Eddy Cue personally called Taylor Swift to announce the company’s decision.




















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Apple will pay artists while its customers get its new Apple Music service for free. Apple has come under fire from musicians recently, most notably from Taylor Swift, over concerns that it would not pay artists during a three month free trial period it was offering its customers to sample its new streaming service.

But it reversed course tonight, announcing the change via a tweet from the company's senior vice president Eddy Cue. Apple subsequently confirmed to News that it will, in fact, be paying for the rights to stream music throughout the trial period.

































In an interview with News, Apple's media boss Eddy Cue said the company will pay artists on a per stream basis during the free three month trial. Cue declined to say what the rate per stream might be. Afterwards, it will pay music owners 71.5 percent of Apple Music's subscription revenue in the United States. Internationally, the number will fluctuate, but will average out at around 73 percent.

The initial decision to forego payments was met with heavy criticism from the music industry at large, especially independent record labels who would be facing a steep charge to be a part of the platform.

The deal's loudest detractor, however, was Taylor Swift, who announced she would not stream her latest album, 1989, on the new service.







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