Apple and Taylor Swift are each bigger successes today than ever before. 10 years ago though, they found themselves on opposite sides of a major issue that could have unraveled the successful launch of Apple Music. Here’s what happened.
Apple’s transition to streaming music faced a critical last-minute challenge
10 years ago, Apple was gearing up for its highly anticipated launch of Apple Music.
The company had spent $3 billion to acquire Beats, with a major motivator being the buzzy Beats Music streaming service.
At the time, Apple had a long history of innovation in the music space, as evidenced by the success of the iPod and iTunes. Both came at critical points in the industry’s transition to digital.
But Beats Music and especially Spotify were on the cutting edge of another huge transition: the switch to streaming.
Though Apple often prefers to build its own solutions rather than acquiring them (see: Apple TV+), its splashy, expensive Beats acquisition was the rare exception.
Apple Music was built on the foundation of Beats Music, and aimed to propel Apple to success in the streaming era.
But shortly before its launch, Apple had a problem: Taylor Swift was not happy.
Apple and Taylor Swift fought and made up 10 years ago
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