Smaller record labels are unhappy with Apple Music, so much so that some big-name artists may be unavailable when the company's new subscription music service launches on June 30th. Beggars Group says it's "very concerned, especially for artists releasing new albums in the next three months," about Apple's proposal to pay zero royalties out during the three-month free trial it's offering users. In a letter to its artists and managers, it explains that it struggles to see "why rights owners and artists should bear this aspect of Apple's customer acquisition costs."
While you may not have heard of Beggars, the group owns or distributes several smaller record labels including XL Recordings, Rough Trade, 4AD and Matador. That makes it home to Adele, Dizzee Rascal, (Tidal co-owner) Jack White, M.I.A., Queens of The Stone Age, Sigur Rós, Tanlines, The Prodigy, Tyler The Creator, Vampire Weekend and more.The Telegraph reports that fellow indie label Domino is similarly unhappy -- Domino currently represents Arctic Monkeys, Hot Chip, Tricky and others.
Apple has apparently been playing hard ball with smaller artists, according to The Brian Jonestown Massacre frontman Anton Newcombe, who said on Twitter that the company threatened to pull his music from iTunes if he didn't agree to the terms of the three month trial.
