Spotify and Warner Music Group have renewed their global licensing partnership, the two said on Wednesday, confirming that the giant music label’s songs will now be available on the Sweden-headquartered firm’s platform in India.
In a joint statement, the two companies said, “Spotify and Warner Music Group are pleased to announce a renewed global licensing partnership. This expanded deal covers countries where Spotify is available today, as well as additional markets. The two companies look forward to collaborating on impactful global initiatives for Warner artists and songwriters, and working together to grow the music industry over the long term.”
According to a Financial Times report from February, one of the significant issues in the nearly year-long negotiations the companies had was podcasts. At the time, Spotify’s existing deals with companies like Warner meant the streaming giant had to pay a minimum percentage of its subscriber revenue to music labels, regardless of the amount of music its users listened to compared to other content. A recent NPR report found that in the US, music listening as a percentage of overall audio consumption is declining as people spend more time tuning into podcasts and other spoken-word programming. Music Business Worldwide suggests Spotify and Warner may have found a middle ground.
Bloomberg reported in December that YouTube Music / Premium, had amassed over 800,000 subscribers in India, more than Spotify, which has not disclosed its India figures.
According to research firm Statista, music streaming services in India will clock about $244 million in revenue this year, compared to the much mature U.S. market, where they are estimated to generate $4.5 billion this year.
It hasn’t been easy for Spotify to renew its deals with music labels. According to Financial Times, music labels were negotiating to secure a guaranteed minimum percentage of Spotify’s subscription revenue, “regardless of how much music users consume versus podcasts or other content.”
