Taylor Swift’s label exec talks behind-the-scenes Apple Music negotiations over 3-month trials [Video]
The controversy surrounding Apple Music’s launch thanks to Taylor Swift made for an excellent way to drum up some extra attention for the service’s debut late last month. First, Swift, who was already vocal in the past regarding streaming services, penned a blog post knocking down Apple’s decision to offer a free, three-month trial without paying artists for streams during that period. Apple responded to Taylor’s decision to hold back her music from the service and it was thought the blog post eventually inspired Apple to reverse its decision. Swift responded to Apple’s decision positively and announced her latest record would be available on the service, all in the days leading up to the Apple Music launch on June 30.
Today we get a bit of insight into what was going on behind the scenes via a Fortune interview with CEO of Taylor’s label, Big Machine Label Group, Scott Borchetta. The record exec notes that he was already in the middle of negotiations with Apple regarding the terms of the three-month trial when Swift published her blog post without letting her label know beforehand. In the end, Apple was able to gain added attention over its music service launch with Swift’s album featured on day one.