Tuesday, January 14, 2020
Warner Chappell and Spotify have signed a global deal that brings to a close a public spat that’s been going on for a year. Terms were not announced.
The multi-territory licensing agreement includes India, where the court has dismissed the pending litigation between the parties.
Spotify launched in India in February with deals in place from Universal and Sony but not with Warner. Both companies expressed pleasure with the agreement.
A Warner Chappell spokesperson said, “We’re happy with this outcome. This new deal appropriately values our songwriters’ music and expands our licensed partnership with Spotify to include India.”
A Spotify spokesperson said, “In less than a year, millions of Indian listeners have joined Spotify, listening to their favorite artists and songwriters from across the globe. We’re pleased with this agreement, and together with Warner Chappell Music, we look forward to helping songwriters and artists connect with more fans, and for more fans to enjoy and be inspired by their music.”
There is no mention of any deal being struck with the recorded music side of WMG. Are those talks nearing a conclusion as well? Perhaps Stephen Cooper or Daniel Ek will have updates when they announced their companies' quarterly earnings the first week of February.