British singer-songwriter Billy Bragg has apologized to pop star Taylor Swift for saying she "sold her soul to Google," NME reports.
The British musician has posted an apology on Facebook yesterday for his earlier rant, saying: "I want to apologise for Taylor Swift for accusing her of selling her soul to Google. I have learned that her music will not now be available on the new YouTube Music Key service, which launched this week."
He admitted that he should have focused on Swift's call for music to be given more value instead of accusing her of corporate power play.
He then pointed out the need for musicians to come together to fight for transparency. "If Ms. Swift is going to lead that fight for transparency, she will have my full support," he added.
On November 18, Bragg shared a lengthy post on Facebook discussing how he thought Swift's exodus from music streaming service Spotify was made in favor of a bigger deal from YouTube, which is owned by Google.
"What a shame that Taylor Swift's principled stand against those who would give her music away for free has turned out to be nothing more than a corporate powerplay," Bragg wrote.
He added, "She should just be honest with her fans and say 'sorry, but Sergey Brin [one of YouTube's founders] gave me a huge amount of money to be the headline name on the marquee for the launch od YouTube Music Key and so I've sold my soul to Google.'"
Swift's camp had denied Bragg's allegation in an earlier statement to NME, saying: "Taylor Swift has had absolutely no discussion or agreement of any kind with Google's new music streaming service."
Swift removed her entire back catalog from Spotify on November 3, citing the service as a "grand experiment." Explaining the reason behind her departure from the service, she maintained that music is valuable and people who make them should be paid accordingly for their talent and efforts.