Taylor Swift writes open letter to Apple Music bosses

Taylor Swift has written an open letter to Apple Music bosses explaining why she is withholding her album 1989 from their service, telling them "it is unfair to ask anyone to work for nothing".

The 22 hitmaker removed her back catalog from streaming service Spotify last year (14) because she only wanted her music to be available on services which charge customers subscription fees, whereas Spotify boasts a paid service along with a free one which generates money from advertising revenue.

Bosses at tech giant Apple are set to launch Apple Music on 30 June (15), and Swift's latest album will not be available because she does not agree with their plan to give customers a three-month free introductory trial.

In her letter, titled "To Apple, Love Taylor", posted on her Tumblr.com blog, she writes, "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. I find it to be shocking, disappointing, and completely unlike this historically progressive and generous company.

"This is not about me... This is about the new artist or band that has just released their first single and will not be paid for its success... 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. We simply do not respect this particular call.

"Three months is a long time to go unpaid, and it is unfair to ask anyone to work for nothing... 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 don’t ask you for free iPhones. Please don’t ask us to provide you with our music for no compensation."