Following Apple and Taylor Swift’s public battle over the weekend, the superstar has announced her newest album will be available on Apple’s forthcoming streaming service Apple Music.
Swift took to Twitter to announce that 1989 will be on Apple Music when it launches next week:
After the events of this week, I've decided to put 1989 on Apple Music…and happily so.
— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) June 25, 2015
The announcement is a huge score for Apple, as their new streaming service will be the only place to stream Swift’s wildly popular 1989 as part of a monthly subscription. In other words, Spotify and TIDAL are currently feeling very sad. Swift has a major following, so the availability of her music on a new competitor is not good news for them.
How we got here: Last Sunday Swift took to Tumblr to rightly voice her concerns about Apple not paying artists during a customer’s three-month trial of Apple Music. Not 24 hours later, Apple decided to bow down to Swift’s concerns and pay the artists during the free trial. The dramatic move — which will cost Apple millions of dollars — is a testament to Swift’s power in the music industry.
Swift prefaced her original Tumblr post by saying that this was the reason 1989 wasn’t coming to Apple Music. After Apple’s about face, she had little choice but to put her album on their new streaming service.
Swift infamously pulled all of her music off Spotify last November because she was displeased by how they paid artists.
Apple Music launches on Tuesday, June 30. It costs $9.99 per month for an individual account and $14.99 for a family account (which can hold up to six people). As mentioned above, Apple Music will offer everyone a three-month free trial.