SPOTIFY has signed a new long-term licensing agreement with Universal Music that will see some albums become available to Premium users two weeks ahead of those using the free platform.
“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,” said Daniel Ek, chairman and chief executive of Spotify.
The deal marks the first time that Spotify have abandoned their long-held stance that all music should be available to all free subscribers. Users will now have to choose between paying for the service and waiting another two weeks to hear new music from their favourite artists. Universal Music is currently home to huge stars such as Beck, Lorde, Katy Perry and Kanye West.
Acknowledging that the free tier policy wouldn’t last forever, Daniel Ek added: “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,” Ek added.
Despite still performing at a loss, Spotify has developed into a dominant force in the music industry and currently hosts 100 million users and 50 million subscribers.
Lucian Grainge, chairman and chief executive of Universal Music Group, said: “Today, streaming represents the majority of the business. Our challenge is transforming that upturn into sustainable growth. In a market this dynamic, one evolving more rapidly than ever before, success requires creative and continual re-evaluation of how best to bring artists’ music to fans.”
