Streaming service Apple Music has been streaming headlines since it's WWDC announcement earlier this month. The result has been a whirlwind of reception from artists and Twitter users alike as more details continued to emerge including percentage royalties for indie artists and Kanye West negotiations. The greatest headline hit the internet this past Sunday when Apple's senior vice president Eddy Cue responded to Taylor Swift's open letter to Apple 17 hours after the 1989 singer posted it to Tumblr explaining her disappointment for artists not getting paid during the service's three month free-trial. The result: Apple was changing their policy and would now be paying artists on a per-stream basis during their users' free-trial period.
Today, the company makes another positive step as it reaches deal with Beggars Group and Merlin Network which together represent over 20,000 indie labels and distributors as reported by Billboard. British company Beggars Group distributes labels 4AD, Rough Trade Records, Matador Records and XL Recordings among others that include Adele, Arcade Fire, Radiohead among its rosters. Merlin is a global digital rights agency of several smaller independent labels that have representing music groups such as The xx.
A Beggars press release exclaimed “Over the last few days we have had increasingly fruitful discussions with Apple. 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 Worldwide Independent Network also extended a letter of support shortly after the Beggars Merlin announcement.
