UPDATED 21:48 EST / DECEMBER 13 2015

NEWS

Taylor Swift’s The 1989 World Tour Live to stream exclusively on Apple Music

Apple, Inc.’s ongoing relationship with singer Taylor Swift has ratcheted up a notch with news over the weekend that the tech giant has gained exclusive rights to the stars’ new video.

The 1989 World Tour Live video was filmed in front of 76,000 fans at the ANZ (Olympic) Stadium in Sydney, Australia, on November 28, 2015, and is said to include Ms. Swift’s entire performance from the concert along with never-before-seen footage filmed backstage, as well a highlights of time spent with “surprise musical and special guests” that appeared during the whole tour.

As of Sunday, December 20, the entire video will be available exclusively to Apple Music subscribers and can be viewed via an iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac, PC or Apple TV.

Access to the film is being made available to the few who are currently paying members of Apple Music, as well as anyone who is currently on a three-month trial period.

Musical guests featured on the video include Alanis Morissette, Alison Krauss, Beck, St. Vincent, Ellie Goulding, Fetty Wap, Fifth Harmony, Idina Menzel, John Legend, Justin Timberlake, Leona Lewis, Lisa Kudrow, Lorde, Mary J. Blige, Mick Jagger, Miranda Lambert, Natalie Maines, Nelly + HAIM, Nick Jonas, Ricky Martin, Selena Gomez, Steven Tyler, The Weeknd, Walk the Moon and Wiz Khalifa.

Other guests include Andreja Pejic, Behati Prinsloo, Candice Swanepoel, Cara Delevingne, Chris Rock, Ciara, Dwayne Wade,Ellen Degeneres, Gigi Hadid, Hailee Steinfeld, Heidi Klum, Joan Baez, Julia Roberts, Karlie Kloss, Kendall Jenner, Kobe Bryant, Lena Dunham, Lily Aldridge, Lily Donaldson, Mariska Hargitay, Martha Hunt, Matt LeBlanc, Russell Wilson, Abigail Anderson, Jamie King, Sean O’Pry, Serena Williams and the U.S. Women’s Soccer Team.

Same same

While the exclusive signing of rights to The 1989 World Tour Live are a coup for Apple and will assist in its efforts to market the service, it does nothing to change the fact that the service itself simply isn’t as intuitive or easy to use as that offered by market leader Spotify AG; sure, Apple Music offers Taylor Swift music whereas Spotify doesn’t, but that in and of itself isn’t that huge a selling point.

Apple can sign up dozens of artists exclusively, but ultimately its flaw is that it’s just not a great service, and you don’t have to believe us, even ardent sycophantic Apple fanboys say so as well.

For Swift, the deal isn’t about picking sides in the music streaming wars (after all, she already has) but simply about money, and, in this case, it would be a staggeringly large amount given how concert films are big business in 2015.

Sadly, the amount Apple paid for the rights was not disclosed.

Image credit: Apple/Taylor Swift

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