Thursday, March 28, 2024

Taylor Swift Vanquishes Apple Music and “1989” Returns to Top of iTunes Charts

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Poor James Taylor. His first new album in 12 years was supposed to be number 1 this morning on iTunes. It had been number 1 for a day or so. But now…Taylor Swift’s “1989” has jumped back to that spot.

The reason? Taylor vanquished Apple Music last night. She posted a statement to Tumblr explaining why she wouldn’t allow her “1989” album to be streamed on the service. Apple Music had said it wasn’t going to pay artists for the 90 days that the service was free to subscribers. Taylor — the only contemporary artist who is selling right now– disagreed with the policy.

I was the first to post last night that Apple’s Eddy Cue stood down. He said later that he’d called Swift in Europe and talked the whole issue over with her. I don’t know Eddy Cue, and I’m sure he’s a nice guy, but he was in trouble with Taylor Swift making public proclamations against Apple. That had to be shut down fast.

And now Taylor, who’s the hero of the day, is back at number 1. I’d like to hear some of the pillars of rock– McCartney, Jagger, Dylan, Springsteen, Bono–speak up about this sort of thing, too. They are rich beyond belief. It’s time to show some leadership.

Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News, where he created the Fox411 column. His movie reviews are carried by Rotten Tomatoes, and he is a member of both the movie and TV branches of the Critics Choice Awards. His articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. He is also the writer and co-producer of "Only the Strong Survive," a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals, directed by DA Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus.
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