Taylor Swift has hit back at a photographer who accused her of hypocrisy over her stance against Apple Music.

Yesterday Jason Sheldon challenged Swift for allegedly asking concert photographers to sign contracts stating that their images can only be used once, calling her photography contracts a “complete rights grab”.

Sheldon addressed Swift in an open letter, asking: “How are you any different to Apple? 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?”

Swift’s UK spokesperson has now responded with a statement arguing that the photography contract was “misrepresented”.

“The standard photography agreement has been misrepresented in that it clearly states that any photographer shooting ‘The 1989 World Tour’ has the opportunity for further use of said photographs with management’s approval,” the spokesperson said.

“Another distinct misrepresentation is the claim that the copyright of the photographs will be with anyone other than the photographer – this agreement does not transfer copyright away from the photographer.

“Every artist has the right to and should protect the use of their name and likeness.”

Swift’s open letter to Apple Music was seen as highly influential in the tech giant’s U-turn on royalty payments, writing: “We don’t ask you for free iPhones. Please don’t ask us to provide you with our music for no compensation.” Apple Music had initially said it would not pay royalties on music streamed during users’ three-month trial period. [via Independent]