Is Taylor Swift Being A Hypocrite?

Taylor Swift has been praised for changing the music industry, but is she just being a hypocrite?

Over the weekend, with just the power of a Tumblr page and super stardom, Swift convinced Apple to revise policies regarding the royalties that artists receive with the new Apple Music Service.

One photographer is making a stir today though because he claims that Taylor is being a bit hypocritical.

Freelance photographer Jason Sheldon said that Swift is guilty of "exploiting" photographers by getting them to sign over lifetime rights to pictures of her live shows

Sheldon wrote an open letter on his blog on Monday, which has been shared over 20,000 times. Sheldon said he was supportive of Swift’s complaint but took issue with a “concert photo authorization form” given to photographers before her shows by Firefly Entertainment, a company that manages Swift’s image rights.

The contract states that you can only use the photo on a one time basis, which means that you can't make an money by selling the photos you took in the future.

The contract also states that the photographers must keep their flashes off and can only photograph during certain songs.

In the blog Sheldon stated "You say in your letter to Apple that ‘Three months is a long time to go unpaid’. But you seem happy to restrict us to being paid once, and never being able to earn from our work ever again, while granting you the rights to exploit our work for your benefit for all eternity…"

Swifts representatives disputed the claims, clarifying that they have the right to resell the photos as long as it is approved by management. They also said that Taylor like all other "artist has the right to, and should, protect the use of their name and likeness."

Swift has not personally addressed Sheldon's open letter, but ultimately they are both in agreement that artists should be compensated for their hard work.

Contributor: Mariah Terry