Spotify and the Warner Music Group have announced a new multi-year deal covering both recorded music and music publishing. The companies say the collaboration will strengthen support for artists and fans and contribute to the development of the music industry.
- The new agreement will create new formats of interaction with fans, expand the catalog of music and video on the service, and introduce additional paid subscriptions and unique content packages.
- In their statement, the companies did not disclose the value of the deal or any details about future subscriptions. However, The Verge suggests that they will include a "deluxe" plan that includes lossless hi-fi audio, which Spotify announced back in 2021.
- The new deal with Warner Music Group also includes a direct licensing model with Warner Chappell Music, which Spotify says builds on the companies' existing partnership to pay royalties to artists.
Spotify recently signed a similar deal with Universal Music Group. It also included additional subscription plans based on the principles of UMG's Streaming 2.0 - superfans will pay for "super premium" to get additional features. For example, high-quality audio.
As a reminder, the music streaming platform reported full-year profitability for the first time, with the music streaming giant's net profit amounting to €1.14 billion (about $1.18 billion).
Spotify also announced a $10 billion payout to the music industry in 2024. However, artists criticized the service for paying "too little" compared to competing platforms such as Apple Music, YouTube Music and Amazon Music.
Among other things, Spotify raised its subscription prices in the UK: £5.99 per month for the ad-supported version (previously £4.99), £12.99 for the standard subscription (previously £10.99), and £18.99 for the premium subscription (previously £17.99).
