Taylor Swift took her opportunity as Billboard’s Woman of the Year to reiterate her stance against streaming music services like Spotify — and she says music should be an investment, not a consumable.
Swift, who recently removed her entire song catalog from the web app, stood up for the right of musicians to make a living from their art.
“I’ve taken this year to stand up for my value as a songwriter, as a businesswoman and a content creator,” she explained. “I’m very well aware the music industry is changing, and it will continue to change. I’m open to that change and progress. I’m not open to the financial model that is currently in place. I really believe that we in the music industry can work together to bond technology with integrity. And I think we can teach a younger generation about an investment in music, not just the ephemeral consumption of it. I think that there has to be a way for streaming or any future way we access music to fairly compensate the writers.
“Events like this, where we have the most powerful people in music all gathered in one room — events like this give me hope that the right conversations will start to take place, and I invite you all to join in the conversation,” Swift continued. “The greatest moment of the year for me was when my fans went out and proved that if you provide them with a bold statement and pour your life into an album, they’ll buy it.”
More:Time‘s Person of the Year is down to 8 finalists
Wrapping up, Swift took a sec to throw one off for girl power — it was the Woman of the Year award, after all.
“I want to thank Billboard for deciding to make me Woman of the Year for the second time… I really just feel like we need to continue to try and offer something to a younger generation of musicians. Because somewhere right now, your future Woman of the Year is probably sitting in a piano lesson or in a girls’ choir. Today, right now, we need to take care of her.”
Watch Taylor Swift’s Woman of the Year acceptance speech
www.youtube.com/embed/egntZUaqzBc?rel=0
Leave a Comment