Taylor Swift has become the poster child for defending the rights of all artists from tech giants like Apple and Spotify, who are looking to give away music through their free streaming services.
But, according to NBC News, there is one platform for which Swift does not have "Bad Blood": YouTube. The seven-time Grammy winner has yet to write an open letter on her Tumblr page to Google-owned YouTube about her disapproval of its free service and actually wants listeners to download her music from the video-sharing website.
So why is YouTube receiving seemingly preferential treatment?
NBC reports the simple answer is, the economics of YouTube make more sense for the 25-year-old and other artists looking to protect their future revenue, because YouTube videos serve a major promotional purpose. On YouTube, Swift is able to monetize her videos in more ways than Spotify and Apple can provide.
"For much of the country, YouTube is still the place to go to discover and consume music. As a promotional platform, it has become as important as, or more important than, terrestrial radio," said Larry Miller, professor of music business at New York University's Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development.
"I think that the reason why she is not going against YouTube has to do with the perceived marketing and promotional clout of this type of media relative to the perceived marketing and promotional clout of interactive streaming services like Spotify and Apple," said Miller.
Marketing is a large component of YouTube, because it's a way for artists to get noticed and earn money. Artists who may be excluded from the radio or top 20 countdowns can post their songs on YouTube to gain greater visibility.
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