Spotify and Warner Music Group have finalized a new multi-year agreement covering publishing and recorded music days after a similar agreement with Universal Music Group last week referenced additional paid tiers and bundling.
While financial details and the length of the contract remain undisclosed, Spotify says the deal will enhance its catalog with additional audio and visual content. The announcements have again fueled speculation about Spotify’s long-rumored “Super-Premium” tier, potentially featuring lossless audio.
WMG CEO Robert Kyncl commented, “This major agreement delivers new benefits for artists, songwriters, and fans, while unlocking further collaboration that expands the music ecosystem. It’s a big step forward in our vision for greater alignment between rights holders and streaming services. Together with Spotify, we look forward to increasing the value of music, as we drive growth, impact, and innovation.”
UMG CEO Sir Lucian Grainge said, “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.”
The agreement also introduces a direct licensing model with Warner Chappell Music, reinforcing existing partnerships on royalty payments. However, concerns remain over Spotify’s per-stream payout rates, which are reportedly lower than those of competitors like Apple, YouTube, and Amazon.
Spotify’s controversy around its royalty seems to be settled for now, as a federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit from the Mechanical Licensing Collective, ruling that the streamer legally bundled audiobooks with its premium subscription to reduce royalty payments to songwriters. The decision, which allows Spotify to cut US mechanical royalties by an estimated $150 million under the Phonorecords IV royalty formula, comes as the company posted its first-ever net profit in its 2024 year-end results.
