Spotify and Universal Music Group have struck a new multi-year agreement for recorded music and music publishing “focused on growth, innovation and the advancement of artists’ and songwriters’ success.”
Per the deal, consumers and artists alike will gain access to new paid subscription tiers, bundling options for music and other audio content and a richer catalog of audio-visual offerings. The collaboration aims to “advance the next era of streaming innovation” and continue subscriber growth and retention by deepening artist-fan interactions and advancing music monetization.
The publishing agreement establishes a direct license between Spotify and Universal Music Publishing Group across Spotify’s current product portfolio in the U.S. and several other countries, reinforcing a “mutually beneficial relationship for songwriters on the platform,” per UMG’s press release on the matter.
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Having been under fire before for not providing adequate royalties to artists, the streaming platform and music corporation are renewing their “commitment to artist-centric principles” through Spotify’s application of fraud detection and enforcement to ensure proper payouts for audience engagement.
Chairman & CEO of Universal Music Group Sir Lucian Grainge said in a statement, “When we first presented our vision for the next stage in the evolution of music subscription several months ago—Steaming 2.0—this is precisely the kind of partnership development we envisioned. This agreement furthers and broadens the collaboration with Spotify for both our labels and music publisher, advancing artist-centric principles to drive greater monetization for artists and songwriters, as well as enhancing product offerings for consumers.”
Meanwhile, Daniel Ek, Spotify’s founder and CEO, added, “For nearly two decades, Spotify has made good on its commitment to return the music industry to growth, ensuring that we deliver record payouts to the benefit of artists and songwriters each new year. This partnership ensures we can continue to deliver on this promise by embracing the certainty that constant innovation is key to making paid music subscriptions even more attractive to a broader audience of fans around the world.”
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