Spotify-Universal Music Group sign multi-year deal amid critcisim from artists
What's the story
Spotify and Universal Music Group (UMG) have signed a new multi-year agreement for recorded music and music publishing.
The partnership, which is focused on growth and innovation, will help "the advancement of artists' and songwriters' success."
It promises to bring new paid subscription tiers, bundling options for music with other audio content, and a wider range of audio-visual offerings.
Enhanced engagement
Partnership to enhance artist-fan interactions
The Spotify-UMG collaboration is aimed at ushering the next era of streaming innovation. It will help boost subscriber growth and retention by enhancing artist-fan interactions and improving music monetization.
Notably, the deal also establishes a direct license between Spotify and Universal Music Publishing Group across Spotify's current product portfolio in the US and several other countries.
Royalty assurance
Deal reaffirms commitment to artist-centric principles
The deal comes at a time when both Spotify and UMG have been criticized for not paying artists enough royalties. As a response, they are re-committing to "artist-centric principles" with this deal.
Spotify will implement fraud detection and enforcement measures to ensure that artists get paid properly for audience engagement, UMG's press release said.
Leadership remarks
CEOs express optimism about the partnership
Sir Lucian Grainge, Chairman and CEO of UMG, said he was excited about the deal as it fits into their vision for the next stage in music subscription evolution.
Spotify's founder and CEO Daniel Ek also expressed optimism about the partnership. He highlighted Spotify's long-standing commitment to returning the music industry to growth and ensuring record payouts for artists as well as songwriters each year.