If it seems like there's suddenly a whole bunch of different music streaming services, that's because ....there's suddenly a whole bunch of different music streaming services.
With Apple about to throw its considerable weight into the streaming music industry, the already crowded market now seems downright congested. Every company seems to make its own claim as to why it's best.
So which one is actually Simon and the rest Garfunkel? Or for you kids, which one is Harry Styles and the rest of One Direction? This interactive will help you decide. Click through it and figure out which services have the features you want.
And, yes, this has been updated to include the fact that Taylor Swift will be allowing Apple Musicto stream her new album, 1989.
Graphic created by Mashable illustrator Bob Al-Greene.
Taylor Swift, in her infinite mercy, has agreed to do business with Apple Music.
Swift announced on Twitter Thursday that she has agreed to make her latest album, 1989, available on Apple Music.
SEE ALSO: Poll: Will you give Apple Music a shot now that it has Taylor Swift's '1989'?
The momentous decision comes just days after she publicly shamed Apple for not paying rights holders for songs streamed during a three-month free trial period, which quickly forced the world's largest technology company to reverse its policy.
The deal, Swift said in a followup tweet, is not an "exclusive" offering for Apple Music. However, the album is not currently available on other major streaming services like Spotify and Tidal.
Swift's announcement caps off a very public clash between Apple and the music community over the compensation arrangement for songs streamed during the free trial. It began complaints from indie labels, but escalated after Swift shared a firmly worded post with her tens of millions of followers. That scrutiny threatened to undermine Apple Music ahead of its launch at the end of this month.
Instead, Swift's decision to embrace Apple Music, along with the endorsement of many independent record labels who have already followed her lead, may just prove to be the perfect publicity for Apple as it tries to crack a market filled with well-established competitors like Spotify.
"Taylor brought more light to the Apple Music service and Apple will get more people checking it out," Tim Bajarin, a longtime Apple analyst with Creative Strategies, told Mashable in an earlier interview. "In a bizarre way, it was a win-win for both of them."
On Sunday, Swift wrote in a Tumblr post that she found it "shocking" and "disappointing" that Apple would not pay out a single dime to record labels for the free trial period. Within hours, Apple had capitulated to America's sweetheart.
The agreement ensures that Apple wins by gaining access to goodwill in the industry and a hugely popular artist's complete catalogue just in time for the launch of Apple Music. It also guarantees Swift will be viewed as the chief advocate for musicians everywhere.
But don't expect artists to profit too much from the arrangement.
Apple will reportedly pay 0.2 cents (or $0.0002) per song streamed during the trial period, according to The New York Times. As one industry watcher put it in an earlier interview withMashable, the royalties paid out to each artist during the three-month trial period will be "barely enough for a sushi lunch."
Taylor Swift has helped independent record labels shake off their concerns about Apple Music.
Two major independent labels made peace with Apple's new streaming music service on Wednesday. The Beggars Group, an independent label that has represented The White Stripes, Vampire Weekend and Adele, joined Merlin, a prominent digital rights agency, and the Worldwide Independent Network, which speaks for the indie music community, in publicly endorsing the service.
The labels were previously cool on Apple Music.
The endorsement comes one week after Beggars Group criticized Apple Music for not compensating artists and labels for songs streamed during an initial three-month trial period. Apple didn't budge on its position — until Swift echoed this concern about fair compensation in a series of online posts over the weekend.
SEE ALSO: Here's why Apple had no chance against Taylor Swift
Apple, apparently fearing the wrath of the most powerful woman in music in the lead-up to the launch of Apple Music, reversed course and agreed to pay an undisclosed amount per song streamed during the free trial.
“Over the last few days we have had increasingly fruitful discussions with Apple," Martin Mills, founder and chairman of Beggars Group, said in a statement. "We are now delighted to say that we are happy to endorse the deal with Apple Music as it now stands, and look forward to being a big part of a very exciting future.”
The news was first reported by Billboard. Reps for Apple did not immediately respond to our request for comment.
Apple initially promoted its streaming service as a being a better experience for artists and listeners alike, in an effort to stand out from competitors like Spotify with a head start, only to be slammed by Swift and have her withhold her latest album — just as she had done with Spotify a few months earlier.
"We know how astronomically successful Apple has been and we know that this incredible company has the money to pay artists, writers and producers for the 3 month trial period… even if it is free for the fans trying it out," Swift wrote in a post Sunday on Tumblr.
Swift's comments earned praise from the artist community and prompted a quick reversal from Apple execs, eager to sweep the issue under the rug before the launch of Apple Music on June 30.
"Apple sees advantages in having artists (especially the more vocal ones) and labels be very supportive of their music efforts," David Pakman, a venture partner at Venrock and former CEO of eMusic, told Mashable in an earlier interview about Apple caving to Swift. "Given that music downloads and streaming, even if Apple had 100% market share, will not have a material effect on Apple's revenue or earnings, Apple doesn't gain anything with being at odds with the music community on their service payouts."
Swift, for her part, said she was "elated" by Apple's turnaround, but has yet to say whether she will make her latest album available on Apple Music.
Taylor Swift has helped independent record labels shake off their concerns about Apple Music.
Two major independent labels made peace with Apple's new streaming music service on Wednesday. The Beggars Group, an independent label that has represented The White Stripes, Vampire Weekend and Adele, joined Merlin, a prominent digital rights agency, and the Worldwide Independent Network, which speaks for the indie music community, in publicly endorsing the service.
The labels were previously cool on Apple Music.
The endorsement comes one week after Beggars Group criticized Apple Music for not compensating artists and labels for songs streamed during an initial three-month trial period. Apple didn't budge on its position — until Swift echoed this concern about fair compensation in a series of online posts over the weekend.
SEE ALSO: Here's why Apple had no chance against Taylor Swift
Apple, apparently fearing the wrath of the most powerful woman in music in the lead-up to the launch of Apple Music, reversed course and agreed to pay an undisclosed amount per song streamed during the free trial.
“Over the last few days we have had increasingly fruitful discussions with Apple," Martin Mills, founder and chairman of Beggars Group, said in a statement. "We are now delighted to say that we are happy to endorse the deal with Apple Music as it now stands, and look forward to being a big part of a very exciting future.”
The news was first reported by Billboard. Reps for Apple did not immediately respond to our request for comment.
Apple initially promoted its streaming service as a being a better experience for artists and listeners alike, in an effort to stand out from competitors like Spotify with a head start, only to be slammed by Swift and have her withhold her latest album — just as she had done with Spotify a few months earlier.
"We know how astronomically successful Apple has been and we know that this incredible company has the money to pay artists, writers and producers for the 3 month trial period… even if it is free for the fans trying it out," Swift wrote in a post Sunday on Tumblr.
Swift's comments earned praise from the artist community and prompted a quick reversal from Apple execs, eager to sweep the issue under the rug before the launch of Apple Music on June 30.
"Apple sees advantages in having artists (especially the more vocal ones) and labels be very supportive of their music efforts," David Pakman, a venture partner at Venrock and former CEO of eMusic, told Mashable in an earlier interview about Apple caving to Swift. "Given that music downloads and streaming, even if Apple had 100% market share, will not have a material effect on Apple's revenue or earnings, Apple doesn't gain anything with being at odds with the music community on their service payouts."
Swift, for her part, said she was "elated" by Apple's turnaround, but has yet to say whether she will make her latest album available on Apple Music.
Darling, she’s a businesswoman dressed as a pop star.
Taylor Swift is known for selling out arenas with her catchy ballads about love, loss, and cherry-red lips, but her recent move to call out Apple Music’s policy to not pay artists during a three month trial period of the new streaming service — which prompted the tech giant to reverse its policy less than 17 hours after Swift’s condemnation — proves she’s got chops as a businesswoman.
SEE ALSO: Dear Taylor Swift: While you're at it, can you fix a few other things?
But this shouldn’t come as a surprise to Swift’s legions of fans. As the daughter of two financiers — her father Scott is a senior vice president at Merrill Lynch, and her mother Andrea used to work at a mutual fund — Swift’s got business in her blood, and the Apple move is the latest in a long list of smart business decisions for the “Blank Space” singer and her label Big Machine Records.
“There is no doubt that Swift and Big Machine are together in a highly effective business,” music industry analyst Mark Mulligan tells Mashable. “Her role in the streaming debate highlights her keen understanding of the importance of the business of making music.”
We examined how Taylor Swift became so awesome, and distilled her actions down to some useful business advice any woman — or anyone — can use.
Learn business at the feet of the best.
IMAGE: JONATHAN SHORT/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Taylor Swift is a strong negotiator
Taylor Swift has mastered one of the keys of negotiation, Sun Tzu style: she comes out firmly for what she wants, but always allows the other side a way to save face. Another key of negotiation: she knows what she wants out of a deal.
Swift raked in $64 million in the last year alone, earning the second spot on Forbes' Top Earning Women in Music in 2014.
In other words, Taylor Swift never has to think about nickels and dimes again. But when Apple Music announced that it wouldn’t be paying artists for during the three month free trial of its streaming service, Swift still spoke up — with some firm words.
“This is not about me. Thankfully I am on my fifth album and can support myself, my band, crew, and entire management team by playing live shows,” Swift wrote in a Tumblr post published on Saturday. “This is about the new artist or band that has just released their first single and will not be paid for its success.”
“It is clear that Swift and her label Big Machine are trying to shape and influence the streaming debate and not simply reject it,” Mulligan says.
The move earned her kudos from many in the music industry for speaking up for the artists who lack Swift’s leverage, becoming a sort of champion of underdogs.
“We haven't seen the revised contract for indies, but let's assume they get compensation at some level for the free trials. We also don't know if the majors had compensation while the indies didn't, but it seems safe to assume that they had the same terms,” Alice Enders, an analyst at U.K-based market research firm told Mashable. “So all indies will gain from Swift's concerns being addressed by Apple Music.”
Taylor Swift performs at the iHeartRadio Music Festival at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on Sept. 19 in Las Vegas.
IMAGE: AL POWERS/POWERS IMAGERY/INVISION/AP/ASSOCIATED PRESS/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Taylor Swift pays attention to every penny
But the move also signals that Swift made the right move in sticking with Big Machine Records, an independent label in Nashville co-owned by Scott Borchetta and country singer Toby Keith, instead of jumping ship to a larger label.
“Taylor Swift is an independent artist,” Enders says, “and that has allowed her to dictate her own terms and conditions to her label.”
And part of those terms and conditions is that Swift stay off streaming services that don’t provide enough pay for artists. Her first move was to pull her entire music catalog off streaming giant Spotify, which pays artists between $0.006 and $0.0084 per stream.
Instead, Swift has been strategic in which companies she’s given access to streaming right to her four previous albums (granting the much-maligned Tidal, which charges users a minimum of $9.99 a month, access to her old album), and no streaming service has the right to 1989, forcing fans that want to listen to “Blank Space” or “Bad Blood” buy the album — perhaps part of the reason the album went platinum earlier this year.
But even before Swift waged her war with streaming services, her label was fighting with the old fashioned radio to get paid for plays. In 2012, Big Machine brokered a landmark deal with Clear Channel to receive royalties for radio plays (and certainly Swift’s singles from her 2012 effortRed were getting the most plays out of anyone on Big Machine’s roster, which now includes bro country stars Zac Brown Band, Florida Georgia Line, and Brantley Gilbert.)
“Thanks to Swift's must-have status, she is the first recording artist that has received royalties from plays on commercial radio...and you may recall that she also threatened to pull her repertoire from that channel,” Enders said. “She punches way above her weight.”
She knows — and protects — her brand and hires good people to help her
But though her status as Big Machine’s crown jewel has allowed Swift to speak out against streaming, Swift is ultimately in control of her brand and image.
And she's handpicked a team — centered around manager Robert Allen and publicist Tree Paine — that allows her to flex her muscles.
When she strayed away from her country roots to make her first all-pop outing with 1989, label head Borchetta reportedly asked Swift to include some country tracks. According to Rolling Stone, Swift resisted, telling Borchetta: “Love you, mean it...But this is how it's going to be.” And that all pop album sold almost 1.3 million copies in its first week.
Swift went on to trademark some of the catchiest lyrics from that album, including "Style's" “Cause we never go out of style” and “Shake It Off’s” “This sick beat.”
“It’s a smart move,” New York University law professor Christopher Jon Sprigman toldUniversity of Pennsylvania’s Business School journal Knowledge at Wharton. “She both has an interest in protecting what she views as her intellectual assets, which she thinks are some of these lyrics … and she does ultimately hope to be able to use some of these on various products, goods and services.”
In addition to protecting her lyrics, Swift protects her image. She’s brought in more than $33 million from her deals with shoe brand Keds, Diet Coke, and beauty brands CoverGirl and Elizabeth Arden — and none of those deals have strayed from Swift’s all American image.
And earlier this year, Swift bought up the rights to porn sites taylorswift.adult and taylorswift.porn to keep control of her likeness — and keep it out of the hands of enjoyers of XXX-content.
Taylor Swift performs on "Good Morning America" in Times Square on Oct. 30 in New York.
IMAGE: GREG ALLEN/INVISION/AP/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Taylor Swift is social media savvy
But perhaps the most important part of the Swift business model is her accessibility to her fans on social media — the ones who will have to spend money on the albums she’s withholding from those streaming services.
Swift counts more than 64 million followers on Twitter, 36 million followers on Instagram, and keeps a Tumblr where she reblogs fans, makes fun of memes, and posts about Apple Music’s streaming services.
“There are a few artists who are as astute in their use of social media for fan engagement as Swift,” Mulligan tells Mashable.
And though she’s currently at the top of pop and pals around with supermodels, she presents herself as a friend to her fans — sending them love via social media, helping them announce their baby news, and sending them gifts.
And she uses social media to generate excitement. She announced her fifth album in a Yahoo! event after leaving clues on her Instagram for weeks leading up to the event. She held secret listening sessions in her private homes to the album with fans handpicked off her social media accounts.
Ahead of the release of the music video of 1989’s fourth single “Bad Blood,” (which was remixed by Kendrick Lamar, prompting fans who had already purchased the album to shell out another $1.29 for the refreshed song with Lamar's verses) Swift released a number of superhero posters of her celebrity friends starring in the video.
And of course, Swift used her powerful social media presence to force Apple to stand down.
Swift has long presented herself as the underdog. On one of her popular earlier singles, Swift sings of a romantic rival: “She’s cheer captain and I’m on the bleachers.” But it’s clear from her business savvy that Swift instead belongs in the boardroom.
Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comments.
Darling, she’s a businesswoman dressed as a pop star.
Taylor Swift is known for selling out arenas with her catchy ballads about love, loss, and cherry-red lips, but her recent move to call out Apple Music’s policy to not pay artists during a three month trial period of the new streaming service — which prompted the tech giant to reverse its policy less than 17 hours after Swift’s condemnation — proves she’s got chops as a businesswoman.
SEE ALSO: Dear Taylor Swift: While you're at it, can you fix a few other things?
But this shouldn’t come as a surprise to Swift’s legions of fans. As the daughter of two financiers — her father Scott is a senior vice president at Merrill Lynch, and her mother Andrea used to work at a mutual fund — Swift’s got business in her blood, and the Apple move is the latest in a long list of smart business decisions for the “Blank Space” singer and her label Big Machine Records.
“There is no doubt that Swift and Big Machine are together in a highly effective business,” music industry analyst Mark Mulligan tells Mashable. “Her role in the streaming debate highlights her keen understanding of the importance of the business of making music.”
We examined how Taylor Swift became so awesome, and distilled her actions down to some useful business advice any woman — or anyone — can use.
Learn business at the feet of the best.
IMAGE: JONATHAN SHORT/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Taylor Swift is a strong negotiator
Taylor Swift has mastered one of the keys of negotiation, Sun Tzu style: she comes out firmly for what she wants, but always allows the other side a way to save face. Another key of negotiation: she knows what she wants out of a deal.
Swift raked in $64 million in the last year alone, earning the second spot on Forbes' Top Earning Women in Music in 2014.
In other words, Taylor Swift never has to think about nickels and dimes again. But when Apple Music announced that it wouldn’t be paying artists for during the three month free trial of its streaming service, Swift still spoke up — with some firm words.
“This is not about me. Thankfully I am on my fifth album and can support myself, my band, crew, and entire management team by playing live shows,” Swift wrote in a Tumblr post published on Saturday. “This is about the new artist or band that has just released their first single and will not be paid for its success.”
“It is clear that Swift and her label Big Machine are trying to shape and influence the streaming debate and not simply reject it,” Mulligan says.
The move earned her kudos from many in the music industry for speaking up for the artists who lack Swift’s leverage, becoming a sort of champion of underdogs.
“We haven't seen the revised contract for indies, but let's assume they get compensation at some level for the free trials. We also don't know if the majors had compensation while the indies didn't, but it seems safe to assume that they had the same terms,” Alice Enders, an analyst at U.K-based market research firm told Mashable. “So all indies will gain from Swift's concerns being addressed by Apple Music.”
Taylor Swift performs at the iHeartRadio Music Festival at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on Sept. 19 in Las Vegas.
IMAGE: AL POWERS/POWERS IMAGERY/INVISION/AP/ASSOCIATED PRESS/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Taylor Swift pays attention to every penny
But the move also signals that Swift made the right move in sticking with Big Machine Records, an independent label in Nashville co-owned by Scott Borchetta and country singer Toby Keith, instead of jumping ship to a larger label.
“Taylor Swift is an independent artist,” Enders says, “and that has allowed her to dictate her own terms and conditions to her label.”
And part of those terms and conditions is that Swift stay off streaming services that don’t provide enough pay for artists. Her first move was to pull her entire music catalog off streaming giant Spotify, which pays artists between $0.006 and $0.0084 per stream.
Instead, Swift has been strategic in which companies she’s given access to streaming right to her four previous albums (granting the much-maligned Tidal, which charges users a minimum of $9.99 a month, access to her old album), and no streaming service has the right to 1989, forcing fans that want to listen to “Blank Space” or “Bad Blood” buy the album — perhaps part of the reason the album went platinum earlier this year.
But even before Swift waged her war with streaming services, her label was fighting with the old fashioned radio to get paid for plays. In 2012, Big Machine brokered a landmark deal with Clear Channel to receive royalties for radio plays (and certainly Swift’s singles from her 2012 effortRed were getting the most plays out of anyone on Big Machine’s roster, which now includes bro country stars Zac Brown Band, Florida Georgia Line, and Brantley Gilbert.)
“Thanks to Swift's must-have status, she is the first recording artist that has received royalties from plays on commercial radio...and you may recall that she also threatened to pull her repertoire from that channel,” Enders said. “She punches way above her weight.”
She knows — and protects — her brand and hires good people to help her
But though her status as Big Machine’s crown jewel has allowed Swift to speak out against streaming, Swift is ultimately in control of her brand and image.
And she's handpicked a team — centered around manager Robert Allen and publicist Tree Paine — that allows her to flex her muscles.
When she strayed away from her country roots to make her first all-pop outing with 1989, label head Borchetta reportedly asked Swift to include some country tracks. According to Rolling Stone, Swift resisted, telling Borchetta: “Love you, mean it...But this is how it's going to be.” And that all pop album sold almost 1.3 million copies in its first week.
Swift went on to trademark some of the catchiest lyrics from that album, including "Style's" “Cause we never go out of style” and “Shake It Off’s” “This sick beat.”
“It’s a smart move,” New York University law professor Christopher Jon Sprigman toldUniversity of Pennsylvania’s Business School journal Knowledge at Wharton. “She both has an interest in protecting what she views as her intellectual assets, which she thinks are some of these lyrics … and she does ultimately hope to be able to use some of these on various products, goods and services.”
In addition to protecting her lyrics, Swift protects her image. She’s brought in more than $33 million from her deals with shoe brand Keds, Diet Coke, and beauty brands CoverGirl and Elizabeth Arden — and none of those deals have strayed from Swift’s all American image.
And earlier this year, Swift bought up the rights to porn sites taylorswift.adult and taylorswift.porn to keep control of her likeness — and keep it out of the hands of enjoyers of XXX-content.
Taylor Swift performs on "Good Morning America" in Times Square on Oct. 30 in New York.
IMAGE: GREG ALLEN/INVISION/AP/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Taylor Swift is social media savvy
But perhaps the most important part of the Swift business model is her accessibility to her fans on social media — the ones who will have to spend money on the albums she’s withholding from those streaming services.
Swift counts more than 64 million followers on Twitter, 36 million followers on Instagram, and keeps a Tumblr where she reblogs fans, makes fun of memes, and posts about Apple Music’s streaming services.
“There are a few artists who are as astute in their use of social media for fan engagement as Swift,” Mulligan tells Mashable.
And though she’s currently at the top of pop and pals around with supermodels, she presents herself as a friend to her fans — sending them love via social media, helping them announce their baby news, and sending them gifts.
And she uses social media to generate excitement. She announced her fifth album in a Yahoo! event after leaving clues on her Instagram for weeks leading up to the event. She held secret listening sessions in her private homes to the album with fans handpicked off her social media accounts.
Ahead of the release of the music video of 1989’s fourth single “Bad Blood,” (which was remixed by Kendrick Lamar, prompting fans who had already purchased the album to shell out another $1.29 for the refreshed song with Lamar's verses) Swift released a number of superhero posters of her celebrity friends starring in the video.
And of course, Swift used her powerful social media presence to force Apple to stand down.
Swift has long presented herself as the underdog. On one of her popular earlier singles, Swift sings of a romantic rival: “She’s cheer captain and I’m on the bleachers.” But it’s clear from her business savvy that Swift instead belongs in the boardroom.
Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comments.
Taylor Swift's record company says Spotify isn't paying a fraction of $6 million a year for her music.
