JUNE 22 (Reuters) — Pop star Taylor Swift will not be making her hit album “1989” available on Apple Inc’s upcoming streaming service, the singer’s label said on Friday (June 19).
Apple Music, which will launch at the end of June, will offer subscribers a large catalog of songs for a subscription fee of $10 a month, but Swift’s “1989,” her fifth studio album; will not be offered on any streaming service, her label Big Machine Group said.
On her Tumblr page Swift says that she is holding back her music from the new streaming service, Apple Music, because she says “Apple Music will not be paying writers, producers, or artists” for the free three month trial that Apple is offering to people who sign up to Apple Music.
Representatives for Apple did not respond to requests for comment.
Swift pulled her entire catalog of music from online streaming platform Spotify last November and refused to offer her latest record “1989” on streaming services, saying the business had “shrunk the numbers of paid album sales drastically.”
The move, while risky, paid off for the 25-year-old singer as “1989” became the biggest debut of 2014. It has sold more than 4.9 million albums in the U.S. since its October release.
Swift’s back catalog remains available on streaming services that require a paid subscription, her label said.
Apple Music, unveiled earlier this month, will not offer a free, ad-supported on-demand streaming service like Spotify or Pandora.
The music industry has supported Apple bringing its vast music library to paid streaming, and the company said it will pay 70 percent of the music subscription revenue to music owners.
