Apple will pay rights holders 0.2 cents per stream of their tracks during the three-month free trial of its upcoming streaming music service, reports The New York Times.
That’s similar to the payout rate that Spotify offers on its free tiers. It also doesn’t include a smaller fee for songwriting rights that goes to music publishers, which Apple is still negotiating.
The company previously stated that it wouldn’t pay rights holders a dime for songs streamed during the free trial. Artists and labels alike were up in arms about the policy, as it meant that many new releases wouldn’t earn revenue for a whole quarter.
Taylor Swift’s open letter to Apple seemed to have roused the company into changing its tune. 17 hours after it was published on her Tumblr blog, Apple announced that it would indeed pay rights holders during the free trial period.
The company was also able to strike deals with music industry heavyweights Merlin and Beggars Group — which represents artists like The XX and Adele — within a week of the indie label sharing a rant about how unfair Apple’s policy was.
Apple Music is slated to launch next Tuesday in more than 100 countries.
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