With five more days until Apple Music debuts on June 30, details are beginning to come out about what exactly Apple will pay artists during the three-month free trial period. According to an article in The New York Times which cited music executives, the deal with record labels will result in Apple paying 0.2 cents per play for songs streamed during the free trial. That rate is on par with the free tier rates paid by competing services like Spotify.
Artists and songwriters will actually make quite a bit less; that fee is reportedly pre-tax, meaning that after value-added taxes are levied in European countries, up to an addition 25 percent could be lopped off.
Apple is also paying a smaller fee to music publishers for songwriting rights, with negotiations still underway as the date for Apple Music’s launch draws closer.
