Just last week, Taylor Swift released a statement condemning Apple’s new music streaming service. The service is titled Apple Music and will allow users to stream thousands of artists through a generated system that appeals to one’s listening preferences. The catch, however, was that users would be allowed to have a three-month free trial period to test out the service before upgrading to full access for $9.99 a month.

Taylor Swift has famously refused to allow other streaming services like Spotify to access her music catalog. When Apple attempted to accomplish this, she instead condemned Apple’s refusal to pay musicians for songs listened to during the three-month trial period. Such music services also pay little for the artists that allow their songs to stream once the trial periods are over.

For larger music labels like RCA, such profit losses would have little impact on their overall revenue for the year. When compared to smaller indie labels, who have a harder time competing in the industry and rely on whatever source of money they can find, the profit losses for those three months could hurt their ability to maintain their operations. Record labels that agree to such demands find themselves economically at the mercy of corporations like Apple. Even though the free trial period is three months, when compared to the amount of users that will sign up for Apple Music and possibly drop the service before having to pay for it, the losses begin to pile up for smaller record labels.

Taylor Swift’s public condemnation of Apple’s actions eventually brought forth a surprising development Apple gave in and decided to pay artists during the free trial period. Apple’s concession also resulted in thousands of people taking to twitter in order to beg Taylor to help solve other problems. Taylor’s stance against Apple represents a victory for indie artists that struggle to gain attention and profits in an overcrowded industry. Record labels may even regain some influence in comparison to the music corporations that have dominated the markets for years.

As the music industry continues to venture into the world of streaming, there are some reservations for indie artists who worry about sacrificing payment for more marketing attention. However, with Taylor Swift's recent actions there is a chance that indie labels will have more say when it comes to financial matters in streaming services.