Apple Music bosses change policy after Taylor Swift's open letter

The bosses of Apple's new music streaming service have changed their set-up after reading Taylor Swift's open letter which criticised them for failing to offer payment for artists during a free trial for fans.

The Love Story hitmaker wrote a blog post aimed at Apple Music officials on Sunday (21Jun15) to explain that she is withholding her latest album 1989 from the service because she is unhappy with plans to give customers a 90-day free trial.

Swift called the decision not to pay musicians for their material during that trial period "shocking" and "disappointing" and urged Apple to change the policy.

Her letter garnered support online from stars including Elvis Costello, Jack Antonoff and Christina Perri, and caught the attention of Apple Music bosses. The company's Senior Vice President of Internet Software and Services, Eddy Cue, subsequently put in a personal phone call to Swift to announce they are now changing their payment plan so artists can be compensated during the trial.

Cue tells Billboard.com, "We've been hearing a lot of concern from indie artists about not getting paid during the three-month trial period, which was never our intent. We never looked at it as not paying them... But when I woke up this morning and saw what Taylor had written, it really solidified that we needed to make a change.

"I actually did talk to Taylor today and I let her know that we heard her concerns and are making the changes... She was thrilled and very thankful. You can tell by the letter she wrote that she's a great admirer of Apple and we've done a lot of great work together. So she was really excited to see how quickly we responded and thrilled that we did."

Swift added in a post on Twitter.com, "I am elated and relieved. Thank you for your words of support today. They listened to us."

Motley Crue star Nikki Sixx also backed Apple's decision, writing, "Hey (Cue) thanks for hearing us. You understand artists work has value. I was pulling my songs but now they will be heard on your platform."