Spotify to window albums on premium

Spotify to window albums on premium

After two years of negotiations, Spotify's Daniel Ek can sleep a little easier. indeed, Universal Music Group has officially signed a new, multi-year global licensing deal with the streaming platform - a vital step in the streaming company's journey towards attempting an IPO.

UMG is believed to have agreed to lower the revenue share of Spotify payouts received by its recorded music operation - but it's got some goodies in return. In addition, and as widely expected, Spotify has acquiesced on something some said it would never do: placing certain music releases exclusively on its premium-only tier. Also, Universal is understood to have set Spotify subscriber growth targets in return for its reduced payment: should the streaming company fail to meet these agreed milestones, UMG's reduction in Spotify revenue share would be postponed (or even potentially reversed).

Daniel Ek, Chairman and CEO of Spotify, said:

This partnership is built on a mutual love of music, creating value for artists and delivering for fans. We will be working together to help break new artists and connect new and established artists with a broadening universe of fans in ways that will wow them both.
We know that not every album by every artist should be released the same way, and we’ve worked hard with UMG to develop a new, flexible release policy. Starting today, Universal artists can choose to release new albums on premium only for two weeks, offering subscribers an earlier chance to explore the complete creative work, while the singles are available across Spotify for all our listeners to enjoy."