In a surprising turn of events, Taylor Swift announced on Sunday that her latest album, a live concert recording from her 1989 world tour, will be available on Apple Music, but not on competing services like Spotify, nor online music stores like Apple’s own iTunes.
This is significant turn in Swift’s relationship with Apple. Earlier in the year, the world famous pop star published an open letter on Tumblr critiquing the company’s intention not to pay artists royalties for any songs Apple Music users listened to during their free trial of the service. When a variety of mainstream and tech publications began reporting on the letter, Apple backtracked on its position and announced it would pay artists during the free trial. Afterward, Apple came to a deal with Swift to make 1989 available on Apple Music.
In an interview with Beats 1 host Zane Lowe, Swift said the exclusive deal with Apple came about after the company showed “so much humility” following their Tumblr showdown.
The 1989 World Tour Live will begin streaming on Apple Music on December 20.
[source]Taylor Swift’s official website[/source][via]The Next Web[/via]
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