Apple Music fails to secure rights Taylor Swift’s ’1989’

In the midst of Apple Music’s global backlash from independent labels, the forthcoming streaming service couldn’t secure the rights to Taylor Swift’s record-breaking album 1989.

Buzzfeed broke the news but the decision doesn’t come as a surprise, the global #1 album wasn’t licensed to any streaming services and the decision follows comments made by Swift which show her reservations about the format.

“By going out and investing in music and albums you’re saying you believe in the same things I believe in - that music is valuable, and that music should be consumed as albums, and that albums should be consumed as art and appreciated,” Swift said during her acceptance speech at the American Music Awards last November.

The move leaves Spotify one step behind in terms of catering to Swift’s more than 130 million combined Facebook and Twitter fans. When Apple Music launches on June 30 it will feature Swift’s back catalogue; Swift pulled her entire catalogue from Spotify last November after the streaming giant wouldn’t allow her music to feature only on the paid subscription tier. Swift's back catalogue does feature on paid-subscription services such as Rdio and Tidal.

Swift’s decision to keep 1989 off of streaming services paid off, since its release last October, the record has surpassed sales of nearly 5 million in the US, making it the first record to so since her last album Red crossed the mark on February 23 last year.

1989 debuted at #1 in 12 countries including Australia, New Zealand and the US, where it spent a total of 24 consecutive weeks inside the top five of the Billboard 200.

Image: Taylor Swift was named the IFPI Global Recording Artist of 2014. It is awarded for the most popular artist across music downloads, streaming and physical format sales worldwide.