Blog #8 Taylor Swift takes a bite outta Apple

(http://reverbpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Taylor-Swift-to-Apple-Byte-Me-708x350.jpg)

When first hearing about Taylor Swift’s letter to Apple, posted on her blog, I felt somewhat indifferent. When I started reading more into it via a link to an article written on Time, I became intrigued.  It all began when Apple decided to start up their own music streaming service. Users would receive a free 3-month trial to try out the service. The problem here was for the artists, writers, and producers… as Apple would not be giving them compensation for the streaming of their music during this free 3 month trail.  I’ve always generally been indifferent about “free music,” and here’s why… I’ve heard of many successful artists who have a fan base so loyal, that the artists give their music out for free and instead simply ask for the downloaders to pay what they can, or give what they want. I always thought that was really neat. Another reason is, well, I am someone who likes streaming music for free, I’m a college student and I like to spend as little money as possible… But at the same time, I am a singer/songwriter myself, so I can see the opposing side. Despite my hard work that goes into recording and producing and writing songs, I have always had my music available for free download on my Sound Cloud, but then again, I am not an established artist who has made this my career, so it is definitely different. If music were all that I did, I would definitely hope for some sort of compensation for it. After reading Taylor’s blog, I gained even more respect for the singer/songwriter, because she isn’t just concerned about herself, she’s concerned about artists out there who are trying to make it. In her blog post, "To Apple, Love Taylor", she writes, 

            “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” – Taylor Swift (Tumblr.com).

But wait… There’s a happy ending too! -- What’s really awesome about this story is that Apple listened, and personally called Taylor to tell her that they would be paying artists, producers, etc., out-of-pocket during the free trail periods. It says a lot about Taylor that she took a stand on something that would not even really affect her… but she did it because she believes it’s right. It also says a lot about Apple, for addressing and acting upon the concern.

(http://www.flow935.com/Pics/Blogs/Newbie/taylor-swift-app-ft.jpg)

  References

Dickey, Jack. "How a 25-Year-Old Blogger Took Down Apple." Time. Time, 22 June 2015. Web. 24

        June 2015.

Taylor, Swift. "To Apple, Love Taylor." Taylorswift.Tumblr.com. Tumblr, 21 June 2015. Web. 24 

        June 2015.