Pop star Taylor Swift recently took on Apple and slammed the company's launch of Apple Music, her main issue being that artists wouldn't receive royalties during the venture's three month trial period. An open letter written by Swift to Apple (found here) echoes Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich's famous July 2000 stand against Napster (available here).

Swift (2015): "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. This is about the new artist or band that has just released their first single and will not be paid for its success. This is about the young songwriter who just got his or her first cut and thought that the royalties from that would get them out of debt. This is about the producer who works tirelessly to innovate and create, just like the innovators and creators at Apple are pioneering in their field…but will not get paid for a quarter of a year’s worth of plays on his or her songs.

Three months is a long time to go unpaid, and it is unfair to ask anyone to work for nothing. 

But I say to Apple with all due respect, it’s not too late to change this policy and change the minds of those in the music industry who will be deeply and gravely affected by this. We don’t ask you for free iPhones. Please don’t ask us to provide you with our music for no compensation."

Ulrich (2000): "My band, Metallica, is fortunate enough to make a great living from what it does. Most artists are barely earning a decent wage and need every source of revenue available to scrape by. Also keep in mind that the primary source of income for most songwriters is from the sale of records. Every time a Napster enthusiast downloads a song, it takes money from the pockets of all these members of the creative community. 

It's clear... that if music is free for downloading, the music industry is not viable; all the jobs I just talked about will be lost and the diverse voices of the artists will disappear. The argument I hear a lot, that 'music should be free,' must then mean that musicians should work for free. Nobody else works for free. Why should musicians?" 

It has been reported that since Swift voiced her opinions, Apple was quick to react by changing the initial plan, announcing they will pay the royalties during the Apple Music trial period.

According to America's Markets "during the past 12 months, Apple reported $2.29 billion in interest and investment income on its enormous pile of cash, says S&P Capital IQ. That means Apple earned 15% of the $15 billion global trade revenue of the entire music industry in 2014 – just from interest alone, according to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry."