--- description: The new terms of Apple’s deals with record labels for its new music streaming service are slowly leaking out. title: Hey, Taylor: Here's How Much Apple Is Really Paying Musicians image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf23e6ded5864567b/6988584e428a9ed7f0ccde42/gettyimages-460021724.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Business](/section/business/) ## Business Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Media](/tag/media/) ## Media Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Hey, Taylor Swift: Here's How Much Apple Is Really Paying Musicians ## Video: The Power of Taylor Swift [Watch (HLS stream): The Power of Taylor Swift](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/mUgZx3qP.m3u8) (2:04)  _Published 2015-06-22. One day after Taylor Swift publicly blasted Apple Music for not paying artists during the service’s free, three-month trial period, Apple reversed its position_ by [Victor Luckerson](/author/victor-luckerson/) ## Victor Luckerson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 25, 2015 2:04 PM CUT  Taylor Swift onstage during KIIS FM's Jingle Ball 2014 powered by LINE at Staples Center on December 5, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. Taylor Swift onstage during KIIS FM's Jingle Ball 2014 powered by LINE at Staples Center on December 5, 2014 in Los Angeles, California.Kevin Winter—2014 Getty Images by [Victor Luckerson](/author/victor-luckerson/) ## Victor Luckerson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 25, 2015 2:04 PM CUT The new terms of Apple’s deals with record labels for its new music streaming service are slowly leaking out. The _New York Times_ [reports](http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/25/business/media/apple-signs-thousands-of-independent-labels-in-royalty-deal.html?%5Fr=0 "undefined") that Apple Music will pay labels 0.2 cents per stream during the service’s three-month free trial. Meanwhile, _Billboard_ [says](http://www.billboard.com/articles/business/6605845/apple-music-indie-publishers-contract "undefined") music publishers, who control the songwriting rights for recorded music, will get 0.047 cents per stream during the free period. That’s a turnaround from Apple’s initial plan, which was to pay rights holders nothing during the free three month trial. Pressure from independent labels and a widely shared [blog post by Taylor Swift](http://time.com/3930308/taylor-swift-apple/ "undefined") criticizing the policy compelled Apple to change course. It’s unclear whether this plan to pay up during the free trial will affect Apple’s [plan](http://recode.net/2015/06/15/heres-what-happens-to-your-10-after-you-pay-for-a-month-of-apple-music/ "undefined") to offer 71.5% of total Apple Music subscription revenue to music rights holders. The figure would be slightly higher than Spotify’s rate of 70%. ### This Is How Apple Teases All Its Huge Announcements  iTunes launch on Windows, October 2003 Apple  iPod Nano, September 2005 Apple  5th Generation iPod, October 2005 Apple  iTunes 7 with movies, September 2006 Apple  iPhone, January 2007 Apple  iPod Touch, September 2007 Apple  MacBook Air, January 2008 Apple  App Store & iPhone 3G, June 2008 Apple  2nd Generation iPod Touch, September 2008 Apple  iPhone 3GS, June 2009 Apple  3rd Generation iPod Touch, September 2009 Apple  iPad, January 2010 Apple  iPhone 4, June 2010 Apple  4th Generation iPod Touch, September 2010 Apple  MacBooks with unibody design, September 2010 Apple  2nd Generation MacBook Air, October 2010 Apple  iPad 2, March 2011 Apple  iCloud & iOS 5, June 2011 Apple  iPhone 4S, October 2011 Apple  iBooks 2 & iBooks Author, January 2012 Apple  3rd Generation iPad, March 2012 Apple  MacBook Pro with Retina display, June 2012 Apple  iPhone 5, September 2012 Apple  iPad Mini, October 2012 Apple  iPhone 5S & iPhone 5C, September 2013 Apple  iPad Air & iPad Mini with Retina display, October 2013 Apple  iPhone 6 & iPhone 6 Plus & iOS 8, September 2014 Apple  iPad Air 2 & iPad Mini 3 & Apple Pay, October 2014 Apple  Apple Watch, March 2015 Apple ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3935563/apple-music-paying-musicians/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3935563/apple-music-paying-musicians/"},"headline":"Hey, Taylor Swift: Here's How Much Apple Is Really Paying Musicians","datePublished":"2015-06-25T14:04:01.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:44:39.737Z","description":"Apple will pay labels and publishers less during free trial of Apple Music, but it will pay something","url":"https://time.com/3935563/apple-music-paying-musicians/","keywords":["Media","Tech","Taylor Swift","streaming","pubdesk","Apple music"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf23e6ded5864567b/6988584e428a9ed7f0ccde42/gettyimages-460021724.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Victor Luckerson","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/victor-luckerson/"}],"articleSection":"Business","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf23e6ded5864567b/6988584e428a9ed7f0ccde42/gettyimages-460021724.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"GettyImages-460021724","caption":"onstage during KIIS FM's Jingle Ball 2014 powered by LINE at Staples Center on December 5, 2014 in Los Angeles, California.","creditText":"Kevin Winter—2014 Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/business/","name":"Business"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/media/","name":"Media"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3935563/apple-music-paying-musicians/","name":"Hey, Taylor Swift: Here's How Much Apple Is Really Paying Musicians"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"The Power of Taylor Swift","description":"One day after Taylor Swift publicly blasted Apple Music for not paying artists during the service’s free, three-month trial period, Apple reversed its position","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/mUgZx3qP/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-06-22T20:13:13.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/mUgZx3qP.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3935563/apple-music-paying-musicians/","duration":"PT2M4S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3935563/apple-music-paying-musicians/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```