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Taylor Swift on Apple Music – translated
As Taylor Swift seems to have difficult saying what she means, so I thought I would provide a plain English translation of what she has to say about Apple Music.
Here is the original, but its all quoted below.
I write this to explain why I’ll be holding back my album, 1989, from the new streaming service, Apple Music. I feel this deserves an explanation because Apple has been and will continue to be one of my best partners in selling music and creating ways for me to connect with my fans.
I make lots of money from iTunes, and this could be profitable too, so I had better do enough grovelling first to let me change my mind if I have to.
I respect the company and the truly ingenious minds that have created a legacy based on innovation and pushing the right boundaries.
They are really good at marketing, just like me.
I’m sure you are aware that Apple Music will be offering a free 3 month trial to anyone who signs up for the service. I’m not sure you know that Apple Music will not be paying writers, producers, or artists for those three months.
It is shocking that anything new in the music industry does not make even more money out of fans.
I find it to be shocking, disappointing, and completely unlike this historically progressive and generous company.
Apple is really good at extracting money from consumers, so we want a slice.
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 entirely about me, but people are horribly unsympathetic when a super-rich 25 year old complains she is not making enough money.
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.
That is assuming that lots of people listen to them on Apple Music, and no one buys downloads or CDs or anything, and assuming unknowns people actually make lots of money from their first single. Its not like this is an industry where a few stars make all the money of something!
This is about the producer who works tirelessly to innovate and create,
A lot of my rich and successful friends and colleagues will not make enough money out of this either.
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.
I think a bit more sucking up here will make me sound better.
These are not the complaints of a spoiled, petulant child. These are the echoed sentiments 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
These are the complaints of a spoiled, petulant bunch of rich people who want more money, but are scared of upsetting Apple too much.
We simply do not respect this particular call.
We will respect a call that makes us more money.
I realize that Apple is working towards a goal of paid streaming. I think that is beautiful progress.
It would be really great if people paid to listen to streaming services, and then paid again to buy downloads. No physical product, gross margin of almost 100%. That is what I call beautiful.
We know how astronomically successful Apple has been and we know that this incredible company has the money to pay artists, writers and producers for the 3 month trial period… even if it is free for the fans trying it out.
Apple needs this to work badly enough that my friends and I can squeeze some money out of them, even if they are not making any money out of it.
Three months is a long time to go unpaid, and it is unfair to ask anyone to work for nothing.
I want the money now.
I say this with love, reverence, and admiration for everything else Apple has done. I hope that soon I can join them in the progression towards a streaming model that seems fair to those who create this music. I think this could be the platform that gets it right.
Pay me from the start, then I’ll be happy.
But I say to Apple with all due respect, it’s not too late to change this policy and change the minds of those in the music industry who will be deeply and gravely affected by this.
We can squeeze pretty hard if we want to.
We don’t ask you for free iPhones. Please don’t ask us to provide you with our music for no compensation.
…because the cost of producing an iPhone is near zero just like the cost of producing a copy of music. I may use free software to run my website, but I need more money than a geek! Its not like anyone ever produced art or music without being assured of royalties first.
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