Are Apple Ripping Off Their Artists?

Apple will be making it very tough for their artists to profit from the new music streaming service, Apple Music. 

According to a contract leaked to Digital Music News, the tech-giants will give just 58% of subscription revenue to their artists, which is quite poor in comparison to Spotify who give 70%.

To make matters worse, the contract reveals that rights owners will shockingly receive 0% during free month trials or on comp accounts — this is particularly interesting since Apple announced at its recent launch that all subscriptions will come with a three month free trial. 

The leaked contract compounds a very tough week for the company who are also currently being investigated for possible label collusion in relation to the new streaming service. 

Apple Music is due to be launched on Jun 30.

UPDATE: According to Mac Rumors, Apple will give record labels 58% subscription revenue, while another 12% will go to publishers and or songwriters — therefore, they will pay 70% in subscription revenue which is in fact on par with their competitors and the industry standard.