So you know how Taylor Swift is totally rich and successful and sells out tours so doesn’t even need people to stream her music to make money? Well, she’s still a stickler for getting paid properly, that’s why she’s taken all of her music off Spotify (how many times have you listened to the karaoke version of Shake It Off to deal with this?) and typed an open letter to Apple this weekend to complain about their streaming service.
See, Apple proposed that in the first three months of using the service – the trial period for users – artists wouldn’t get paid for the music that the trial-ers would be listening to. Taylor said this wasn’t fair because, in short: ‘We don’t ask you for free iPhones. Please don’t ask us to provide you with our music for no compensation.’
She also went to great efforts to say that she has ‘love, reverence and admiration’ for Apple, and was speaking up on behalf of ‘every artist, writer and producer in my social circles who are afraid to speak up publicly because we admire and respect Apple so much.’
Apple’s response? They’ve said that they will pay artists for all streaming they do, even the streaming they’re not charging people for! This was from Eddy Cue, the senior vice president, internet software and services at Apple (AKA massive big dog/cheese):
Some people might be questioning Taylor’s sway, suggesting it was all a publicity stunt. Firstly, how could Apple have changed their minds on a Sunday, plus Apple listens to other people’s ideas little enough to automatically put a free U2 album on to the iPhones of every single one of their millions of users. But really, we have it on great authority that this exchange was not orchestrated or planned and that Taylor, the girl who sings songs about love and heartbreak and partying, is powerful enough to have made that change.
A 25-year-old woman who can get one of the world’s most powerful brands to change a major commercial decision behind its products one week before its launch? Yup, that’s Taylor.
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.