Post Apple letter, Swift accused of 'double standards' by photographer

Taylor Swift may have cleared her bad blood with Apple Inc., but in so doing, opened herself up to a bevy of complaints from photographers who accuse the pop princess of a double standard.

Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) reversed policy on paying artists for its new streaming service – Music – during the trial period following an open, public letter from Swift.

However, the BBC reports photographer Jason Sheldon penned his own open letter, saying the singer herself did not play fair when it came to image rights.

In it he wrote: "If you don't like being exploited, that's great – make a huge statement about it, and you'll have my support. But how about making sure you're not guilty of the very same tactic before you have a pop at someone else? With all due respect to you too, Taylor, you can do the right thing and change your photo policy. Photographers don't ask for your music for free. Please don't ask us to provide you with your marketing material for free.”

Sheldon said photographers are made to sign a permission form granting Swift's management company long-term rights to reuse their images and prevent photographers from featuring the images after the initial coverage. Photographers aren’t allowed to use the images in a portfolio or on a website and all images become property of Swift, even if unpublished.

Swift’s team has refuted many of the claims.

Read more from the BBC.