Apple’s quick decision to pay artists royalties during the three-month trial of its new streaming service could set it back more than a half billion dollars, or less than a hundred million, a rounding error on the Cupertino, Calif. company’s books, analysts said today.

After singer-songwriter Taylor Swift blasted Apple for not paying artists during the trial — which launches June 30 as Apple Music debuts — Apple executive Eddy Cue responded on Sunday, tweeting, “will pay artist for streaming, even during customer’s free trial period.”

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