Billy Bragg has issued a formal apology to Taylor Swift after incorrectly claiming she "sold her soul to Google." The controversy arose when YouTube featured Swift's music during demonstrations of their new YouTube Music Key service to journalists, despite not having authorization to include her catalog.

Key points about the situation:

• YouTube prominently featured Swift's music in Music Key demos without her permission
• Journalists were told Swift's back catalog would be available on the free tier
• Google later confirmed Swift's music would not actually be available on Music Key
• The demo was for internal preview purposes only

In his apology, Bragg acknowledged:

"I was mistaken in assuming this was a corporate power play rather than an artist standing up for music's value. If Ms. Swift leads the fight for transparency between rights holders and service providers, she will have my full support."

This incident highlights ongoing tensions between artists, streaming platforms, and content rights as the industry grapples with fair compensation for music in the digital age.

Image credit: El Humilde Fortero del Pánico, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0).

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