Apple Music has now landed what has never been accomplished before: the rights to stream Taylor Swift’s album 1989. The musician announced the news this morning on Twitter, saying she’s happy to do it “after the events of this week,” and also said it’s not an exclusive to Apple.
Why the change? Swift says “it’s felt right in my guy” for the first time and thanked Apple for their change of heart.
After the events of this week, I've decided to put 1989 on Apple Music…and happily so.
— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) June 25, 2015
In case you're wondering if this is some exclusive deal like you've seen Apple do with other artists, it's not.
— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) June 25, 2015
This is simply the first time it's felt right in my gut to stream my album. Thank you, Apple, for your change of heart.
— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) June 25, 2015
Last week Swift wrote a scathing open letter directed at Apple, sharing her disappointment Apple Music would not pay artists during the free three-month trial period. Apple quickly changed course and announced it would be paying artists as a result of the Grammy award winner’s letter, with iTunes chief Eddy Cue personally calling Swift to inform her of the news.
Some have suggested the Apple-Swift dispute is “mostly theater”, like former Pandora CTO Tom Conrad. Apple Music launches on June 30 and will be available in Canada, but pricing is unknown at this point.
