By now you’re familiar with the story:
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Last Sunday, Taylor Swift went to tumblr to explain why she was withholding her latest effort, 1989, from the soon-to-be-launched Apple Music streaming service:
To Apple, Love Taylor http://taylorswift.tumblr.com/post/122071902085/to-apple-love-taylor
— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) June 21, 2015 -
Some 17 hours later, Eddy Cue, Apple’s Senior Vice President of Internet Software and Services, effectively backtracked on Apple’s [then] current policy of not compensating artists[1] during Apple Music’s 3-month trial period:
We hear you @taylorswift13 and indie artists. Love, Apple
— Eddy Cue (@cue) June 22, 2015#AppleMusic will pay artist for streaming, even during customer’s free trial period
— Eddy Cue (@cue) June 22, 2015 -
Still Sunday, Swift took to Twitter to acknowledge Apple’s change of heart:
I am elated and relieved. Thank you for your words of support today. They listened to us.
— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) June 22, 2015 -
And finally on Wednesday of last week, three days after all the Sunday hubbub, Swift too declared her change of heart:
After the events of this week, I've decided to put 1989 on Apple Music...and happily so.
— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) June 25, 2015
Quite the tumultuous week for both Taylor Swift and Apple. While the Apple blogosphere covered the event in full force, the mainstream media also took note. There is so much to unpack with regards to Taylor Swift herself, Apple, Apple’s stance on steaming music, and the entire music industry as a whole.
By far the best wrap-up and analysis comes from Neil Cybart of Above Avalon. While he praises Swift’s stance on streaming music, Cybart seems to suggest that her efforts might just be in vain. Perhaps her take on streaming music is too naive to be relevant?
I think it’s important to note that Taylor Swift knows exactly what she is doing. Beginning with her WSJ op-ed last year and her recent spat with Spotify where she removed her entire music catalog from the music streaming service, Swift has fully embraced the message that music needs to be valued appropriately. Not only does such positioning likely hold true to her beliefs, but it serves her well from a business sense.
And because Taylor Swift is so big, her voice carries further than it otherwise would if she were less popular:
Simply put, she can afford to take these kind of hard stances and use her music as a bargaining chip.
And while Swift’s intentions in strong-arming Apple were noble, perhaps she is only delaying the inevitable?
Even though Swift won this latest battle (Apple probably will face no long-term negative implications from this though), I still think Swift’s long-term positioning in terms of valuing music is problematic. Swift is combining short-term goals with long-term ambitions. She is upset with any service or feature that doesn’t value music correctly. She raises very valid (and convincing) arguments. However, when looking at the long-term, Swift is likely backing herself into a corner.
However, look at what happened with Swift’s battle with Spotify. The music streaming service’s momentum in terms of user growth (the most important metric for Spotify) has shown no signs of slowing down after Swift pulled her music collection. In fact, one can argue Spotify gained exposure following Swift’s very public battle with its free streaming tier. Here is where I think Swift will find some trouble. She will not be able to control technology. Even though she is the most popular music artist in the world today, that is not enough to shift what will be inevitable in terms of music and technology. She is trying to get everyone to play nicely, but no one person holds enough power to keep everyone in line. A stronger Spotify, including a more popular free streaming option, would seem to go against what Swift is advocating.
In other words, Taylor Swift can moan all she wants about the value of music,[2] but at the end of the day, technology (not morals) will determine how the streaming music cookie crumbles:
Swift wants people to value music appropriately. Apple does too. Swift thinks the best way of doing that is to pay for music. I’m not sure Apple feels the same way long-term. Technology likely has other plans in mind (and I suspect Apple does too) in terms of how one can monetize music to ensure sustainability. Free music streaming isn’t going away, regardless of how much Taylor Swift hates it.