NEW YORK — Taylor Swift is releasing a live concert special from her starstudded “1989 World Tour” exclusively on Apple Music.

The pop star announced Sunday, on her 26th birthday, that she will release the “The 1989 World Tour LIVE” on the streaming platform on Dec. 20. It will not be available for purchase, but it is free for streaming for Apple Music users.

The concert, directed by Jonas Akerlund, features Swift’s performance in Sydney, Australia, at the ANZ Stadium, taped on Nov. 28. It will also include appearances from the many celebrities and musicians who surprised fans on the tour, from Justin Timberlake to Mick Jagger to Kobe Bryant.

Apple Music is currently the only streaming platform where Swift’s best-selling “1989” album is available. Swift, who wrote a critical Tumblr post in June about Apple’s initial decision to not pay artists during its free, three-month trial launch of Apple Music, said Apple contacted her about capturing one of her concerts for a special.

“I think I’d be leaving a huge part out if I didn’t mention the blog post that I wrote. I think that is probably the starting point because I didn’t have a personal relationship with Apple until that point,” Swift said in an interview with Zane Lowe of Apple Music’s Beats 1 Radio (the interview airs Monday at noon Eastern). “I’m sure there are better ways to introduce yourself than to say, ‘This is what I’m upset about, please think about our industry.’ It got more attention than I thought it would because I’d been echoing those sentiments for years.”

Apple changed its decision to pay artists, but Swift said she was a bit terrified after posting the letter.

“And then I was struck with this overwhelming sense of fear. Like, are they going to turn my phone off? Are they going to turn the video camera on? Are they watching me right now? Am I going to wake up tomorrow and all of my music will be off of iTunes?” she said. “Like absolute terror hit.”

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