Once having threatened to boycott the service, pop singer Taylor Swift on Friday appeared in a video ad for Apple Music, showcasing the service's curated playlists.
Swift is seen preparing to run on a treadmill, choosing a playlist called "#GymFlow" from Apple Music running on an iPhone. She begins to run and dance to the song "Jumpman" by rappers Drake and Future, only to get distracted and fall flat on her face.
Prior to the launch of Apple Music in June 2015, Swift briefly threatened to keep her bestselling album 1989 off the service, in protest of the company's royalty policies. Apple initially planned not to pay any royalties on tracks streamed during a listener's three-month trial, which generated complaints not just by Swift but by a number of independent labels.
Based on true events. #TAYLORvsTREADMILL @applemusic @Drake @1Futurehttps://t.co/ryUY3Yz7Prhttps://t.co/1eIHjoVIFU
— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) April 1, 2016
Swift's reaction was the catalyst for change however, prompting Apple to reverse course the same day as she posted an open letter on the topic. Later that week, she announced that 1989 would be available on Apple Music.
Earlier today, another major pop artist — Kanye West — apparently relented to market demand by allowing his album The Life of Pablo to appear on both Apple Music and Spotify. The record was initially an exclusive to Tidal, of which West is a part owner, and the rapper once claimed that it would "never never never be on Apple." Earlier this week however, singles from Pablo began showing up on rival services.
21 Comments
I bet the insurance-cover guys were biting their fingernails to the quick, watching that stunt play out!
honestly... I didn't see that coming
At first this ad seemed boring and then... wow. Funny! Did she do the stunt herself, or did they somehow cut to a stunt double for the fall?
This ad falls flat.
Let's be honest, she didn't boycott or threaten to boycott Apple Music. That's like saying I'm boycotting a company because they didn't want to pay me for work.