Taylor Swift’s Twitter Rant Was All A Publicity Stunt?
According to Twitter users, Taylor Swift’s open letter to Apple last week was all a publicity stunt. It was a way to generate more sales, something that some people believed when she removed all her music from Spotify. However, the singer says that is definitely not the case, and she was simply standing up for indie artists.
Taylor shared her open letter to the tech giant when she said found out that artists would not be paid when their music was streamed on Apple’s new service during the free trial period. Unlike other companies, Apple is offering a three-month free trial, which means that artists could face a quarter of the year of their music being played and receive nothing at all. Swift believed the decision was “shocking” and far from “progressive.”
Just hours later, Apple made a U-turn decision, according to E! Online. Taylor also made a U-turn on her decision not to allow her album 1989 to appear on the streaming service. She says that it will now be available.
Some users started to question whether it was a publicity stunt and whether she has a secret deal with Apple. According to USA Today, she tweeted that she just felt that it was right to stream the music.
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
Earlier this year, Taylor Swift made headlines for removing her music from Spotify. It was all over pay again, which she says is not enough to justify keeping her music online. Her albums were all popular with Spotify users, but Swift believed — rightly so — that she could get more money by not making her music freely available. Unlike Apple, Spotify has a permanently free option for those streaming music, although there is a premium option as well that offers a 30-day free trial. The high-profile decision may have helped her gain more sales on her 1989 album, which quickly topped the charts.
So @TaylorSwift13, if you have no special deal w/ @AppleMusic, & Apple Music pays the same as @Spotify, when’s your catalog back on Spotify?
— Jack Appleby (@JackMEB) June 25, 2015
It seems that whenever music streaming comes up, Taylor Swift is a name that many people hear. That is one of the reasons many Twitter users viewed her open letter attacking Apple over royalty decisions as a publicity stunt. It is just another way to keep her in the news and keep her linked to music streaming. Some also claim that it is a stunt for the tech giant. Users also commented on the royalties that Apple will be paying. One user pointed out that Apple will pay half the royalties that Spotify did, but Taylor Swift will still allow her music to appear on the service.
@taylorswift13 What’s wrong with Spotify then? Apple isn’t only one paying 70%. Seems like artists gonna exclusive with these corporations.
— Mika Chandi (@mikachandi) June 25, 2015
I like how Taylor Swift pulled her music from Spotify but is cool with Apple Music (which is paying half of what Spotify pays)
— Dino (@Rhymestyle) June 25, 2015
[Photo by Ross Gilmore/Getty Images]
