Taylor to Apple Music: Pay me to play me

Brian Mansfield | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Taylor Swift to Apple Music: Pay Me to Play Me Two days after Taylor Swift announced she'll hold back her 1989 album from Apple Music, the pop superstar has taken to Tumblr to explain her decision. In a post on her Tumblr page titled "To Apple, Love Taylor," Swift notes that Apple Music plans t

Two days after Taylor Swift announced she'll hold back her 1989 album from Apple Music, the pop superstar has taken to Tumblr to explain her decision.

Swift won't allow the album, which has sold nearly 5 million copies since its release in October, to be played via Apple's new streaming service. Swift's 1989 was the top-selling album of 2014 and holds the same title so far this year.

In the post "To Apple, Love Taylor," Swift writes Apple Music plans to forego royalty payments to writers, artists and producers during the three-month trial window when customers who sign up for the service can use it for free.

"I find it to be shocking, disappointing, and completely unlike this historically progressive and generous company," she writes.

Apple Music, which will debut on iOS9 and Android on June 30, will offer both a free tier and a paid subscription service that will cost $9.99 a month after the three-month free trial. The service will combine on-demand listening with stations programmed by DJs instead of computerized algorithms.

In the open letter, Swift insists the decision isn't about her because she's perfectly capable of paying herself and her entire team through concert appearances.

"This is about the new artist or band that has just released their first single and will not be paid for its success," she writes. "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. This is about the producer who works tirelessly to innovate and create, 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."

Swift adds that her opinions about Apple's decision not to make royalty payments for the three-month "freemium" period are echoed by "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."

Swift also pulled her catalog from the Spotify streaming service in November.

While the singer credits Apple for working toward a goal of paid streaming, which she calls "beautiful progress," she calls on Apple to change its policy and writes: "Three months is a long time to go unpaid, and it is unfair to ask anyone to work for nothing. 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."

Finally, Swift notes: "We don't ask you for free iPhones. Please don't ask us to provide you with our music for free."