Billy Bragg: Taylor Swift ‘selling her soul’ to Google

Billy Bragg slammed Taylor Swift for allegedly selling out to Google, but playing as though she was standing up for musicians.

Getty Images / GC Images Billy Bragg slammed Taylor Swift for allegedly selling out to Google, but playing as though she was standing up for musicians.

Billy Bragg is calling out Taylor Swift for “selling her soul to Google.”

In a Facebook post Tuesday, Bragg called Swift’s explanation for ditching Spotify a sham, claiming the singer instead pulled a “corporate power play” designed to prop-up Google’s new streaming service.

The candid British folk singer claimed Swift inked a deal to serve as the face of YouTube Composition Key and deceived fans by appearing to take a righteous stand against streaming services that screw artists.

“What a shame that Taylor Swift’s principled stand against those who would give her composition away for free has turned out to be nothing more than a corporate power play,” Bragg wrote.

“On pulling her composition from Spotify recently, she made a big issue of the fact that the majority of the streaming service’s users listen to her tracks for nothing rather than signing up to the subscription service.”

“But she should just be honest with her fans and say ‘sorry, but (Google founder) Sergey Brin gave me a huge amount of money to be the headline name on the marquee for the launch of You Tube Composition Key and so I’ve sold my soul to Google,” he added.

Taylor Swift, above at the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards, yanked all of her music from Spotify earlier this month, saying the service didn't value artists.

Kevin Winter/MTV1415/Getty Images for MTV Taylor Swift, above at the 2014 MTV Video Composition Awards, yanked all of her composition from Spotify earlier this month, saying the service didn’t value artists.

The 56-year-ancient singer said he had no issue with Swift trying to maximize the album, but accused her of being a hypocrite for getting in bed with YouTube, which he called the “de facto largest streaming service in the world.”

“If Ms Swift was truly concerned about perpetuating the perception that composition has no value and should be free, she should be removing her material from You Tube, not cosying up to it,” he said.

“Google are going after Spotify and Taylor Swift has just chosen sides,” Bragg added later.

“That’s her prerogative as a savvy businesswoman — but please don’t try to sell this corporate power play to us as some sort of unselfish gesture in solidarity with struggling composition makers,” he said.

Composition Key, which launched in the U.S. and six European countries last week but remains in beta, offers online and offline streaming. Additional bells and whistles, including ad-free listening, are available for a monthly fee.

Earlier this month, Swift yanked her entire catalogue from Spotify, telling Time magazine later that she tried the service and “didn’t like the way it felt.”

“I think that people should feel that there is a value to what musicians have made, and that’s that,” she said.

The anti-streaming stance paid-off — her latest album “1989″ sold 1.3 million copies in the first week and is the only album to go platinum this year.

So far, Swift hasn’t responded to Bragg’s claims, which were first reported by the BBC.

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