From the suggestion that the Earth is actually hollow to accusations that Jay Z and Beyonce are the world’s most famous Illuminati members, the Internet is nothing if not great for spreading crazy conspiracy theories.
In the wake of the recent Apple/Taylor Swift confrontation over Apple Music, there’s another one to add to the list: That the whole thing was staged to promote Apple’s new streaming music service.
And based on the number of times it’s already being mentioned, a surprising number of people believe it.
Oh please. I am certain that whole Taylor Swift “open letter” was just a publicity stunt for both her and Apple. #AppleMusic
— Caleb Hamilton (@CalebH92) June 22, 2015
Taylor Swift -letter to #Apple reads like a weird ad and the quick turnaround by the company just makes me think it was a publicity stunt.
— Jouni Koskinen (@vogod) June 22, 2015
I wonder how much Apple paid Taylor Swift for this ‘admirable’ but deeply cynical publicity stunt for both parties? 6 or 7 figures? VOTE NOW
— Martin Rossiter (@MartinRossiter) June 22, 2015
~*one day there will be a Sony-style leak at Apple and we’ll all find out this Taylor Swift thing was a stunt*~
— Veronica de Souza (@HeyVeronica) June 22, 2015
Are people really that dense and can’t see that Apple and Taylor Swift just pulled a big publicity stunt?
— Rajendra Singh (@Rajendra) June 23, 2015
Congratulations to Apple & Taylor Swift on their mutually beneficial publicity stunt. The media have fallen Hook, Line & Sinker
— Nick (@Twiger) June 22, 2015
For those who have been living under a rock, the story thus far is that Taylor Swift pulled her ultra-popular “1989” album from Apple’s eagerly-anticipated Apple Music streaming service as a protest over Apple’s insistence that it not pay artists royalties for the initial three month trial.
While Swift wasn’t the first artist to voice disapproval over Apple’s apparent bilking of musicians, she was the first big name star to discuss it — which she did in an open letter to Apple’s executives over the weekend. “We don’t ask you for free iPhones,” Swift wrote. “Please don’t ask us to provide you with our music for no compensation.” Almost immediately, Apple backed down on their decision and announced that it would, in fact, be paying artists for the three-month trial period, despite the fact that the service won’t actually be making money at this stage.
So where does the conspiracy theory enter into it?
Well, not only did Swift help publicize the fact that Apple Music will be offering said free trial (which a large number of Internet users seemed unaware of), but the end result also serves to make all parties involved look good. Swift gets to cement her image as America’s sweetheart, while Apple shows its caring side by doing what its rivals wouldn’t by admitting it was wrong and pledging to change its stance.
Is it a conspiracy? Almost certainly not, although the idea of Tim Cook and Taylor Swift standing around smoking cigars in a dark room, while laughing about the gullibility of the general public makes me — in the words of Fox Mulder — want to believe.
After all, if there was no prior relationship between Apple and the “Bad Blood” songstress, why did they name a programming language after her last year? (Insert X-Files music.)
Source: Yahoo
Luke Dormehl is a U.K.-based journalist and author, with a background working in documentary film for Channel 4 and the BBC. He is the author of The Apple Revolution and The Formula: How Algorithms Solve All Our Problems … and Create More, both published by Penguin/Random House. His tech writing has also appeared in Wired, Fast Company, Techmeme and other publications.
14 responses to “Conspiracy theorists thinks Taylor Swift’s Apple beef was a publicity stunt”
LOL, of course…. Apple literally controls the entire universe and everything that happens is under their control, even when it doesn’t look like it. AntennaGate, Bendgate, Watch shortages, iOS 8.0.1, all of them were carefully planned publicity stunts. Apple never makes mistakes. If you go buy a Samsung phone, it’s because Apple wanted you to.
The author of this article is so naive :-)
Big News: Apple does the right thing and supports artists! It must be a scam!
Seriously, in some peoples’ eyes, Apple can’t do anything right. Every Apple product and decision is wrong for so many reasons… none of which make much reasonable sense. I’ve been using Apple products since my first Mac SE/30 in 1989, and what has always impressed me about Apple is that they generally “do the right thing.” Is it possible for a multi-billion-dollar corporation to change its collective mind in an hour or so? Sure! Why not? Tim Cook and Eddy Cue are smart guys, and they can see a debacle in the making when artists start to speak out against providing their music for free for 3 months. Tim and Eddy are also smart enough to take advantage of a situation that shows them off as being the “good guys” and all the positive PR that occurs as a result.
Was this a planned PR stunt with Taylor Swift? I very much doubt it, because it’s a dumb way of getting attention, which offers many ways for it to backfire on them. Why plan a situation where they invite all kinds of conspiracy theories just to get attention? It would be MUCH easier to simply contract with Taylor Swift and promote her album being on Apple’s new streaming service. The idea that all corporations operate like evil beasts of prey or something out of a James Bond movies is ridiculous. Apple made a bad decision, several musicians protested and Apple changed their minds. End of story.
This!!
I think what’s more troubling is how quick people are to jump on some bulls*** in the absence of any factual information.
I for one don’t subscribe to conspiracy theories as they’re typically rooted in fear and hatred. That’s not to say that some theories don’t have teeth or shouldn’t be discussed but citing it as fact is where I find the biggest fault.
You don’t seem to be factoring in the anti-trust angle. This gives Apple cover against an anti-trust charge that they are using their dominate position to force competitors out of business with free services.
I don’t know what happened here but I think it is probably a little more complicated than anything cult of mac can cover.
I would be honestly surprised if it wasn’t a marketing stunt.
Conspiracy no. Publicity stunt yes. Apple should be forced to publicise exactly what they will pay artists for using their songs during the trial period.
I don’t believe for one instant that Apple instantly changed course after one letter from a pop artist was posted on Tumbler. That’s silly. I don’t think there’s a conspiracy either though. That’s just as silly.
“Conspiracy theorists thinks Taylor Swift’s Apple beef was a publicity stunt”
Everything about Swift is a publicity stunt.
Pretty sure Apple was planning on changing their minds anyway after the Beggars label uproar. Why else would Apple have responded mere hours after Swift’s tweet? A company the size of Apple doesn’t make decisions that big on a whim Sunday night without approval of the whole board. It was already in the works. Swift’s clones are ignorant and think she “saved the music industry.” Please.
I do feel like it was all planned and is a stunt. There is no way they could have made a multi million $ decision overnight. Unless it was already on the plan and Taylor Swift’s letter was the tipping point.
When everything is a conspiracy theory then nothing is a conspiracy theory and that’s just the world you live in. It’s called insanity.
So you’re saying the Illuminati did it?
From a website that calls itself a CULT, I find this piece to be a humorous one when pointing fingers to “other” crazy people.