Spotify, who has recently banned white supremacist bands, has renewed a license deal with Warner Music, which will allow them to publicly offer and the company will be to tell investors that it has it has a hold on music costs for the next few years.
With this deal and deals made with Sony and Universal, Spotify will be predict their music costs for several years. With this Spotify is seeking to go a non-traditional path to go public. The company has done this by skipping a traditional share sale and and listing on the New York Stock Exchange, which they are expected to float. Even with these agreements, there are still some limitations Spotify face to get the labels signed.
Spotify founder and executive Daniel Ek explains that with the deal with Universal, artists can choose to release their albums for two weeks, which will allow their subscribers to explore their music. Both deals with Universal and Sony Music have restricted that certain songs can not be played to Spotify;s non paying users.
According to recode, a Instagram post was made with Chief Digital Officer Ole Obermann commenting about the partnership, saying “It’s taken us a while to get here, but it’s been worth it, as we’ve arrived at a balanced set of future-focused deal terms. Together with Spotify, we’ve found inventive ways to reinforce the value of music, create additional benefits for artists, and excite their fans all over the world. Even with the current pace of growth, there’s still so much potential for music subscription to reach new audiences and territories.” Spotify chief content officer has also commented on the partnership saying ““Our partnership with Warner Music Group will help grow the new music economy where millions of artists can instantly connect with fans, and millions of fans can instantly connect with artists.”