UMG BROADENS SPOTIFY OFFERINGS

Universal Music Group and Spotify are expanding their strategic relationship to further amplify music discovery and social interaction and enhance fan experiences on the platform for UMG artists and songwriters.

Spotify will make available a series of new promotional and social features that will help artists drive interaction and generate excitement around new releases. To start, UMG artists will have the ability to share teasers of upcoming music on Spotify to increase fan engagement and pre-save activity before a new release.

Additionally, a new agreement with Universal Music Publishing Group will enable Spotify to distribute music videos in the U.S. The companies will continue to explore additional features that allow fans to discover artists and propel virality of new releases.

“We’re excited to broaden our relationship with Spotify through the introduction of new content offerings and collaborations that will bring deeper ‘social music’ experiences to the platform,” UMG Chairman & CEO Sir Lucian Grainge said. “We’re always striving to expand opportunities for UMG artists and songwriters to elevate engagement with their fans, especially in the introduction of new music and artist-centric initiatives. Spotify has been a committed partner in creating tools that help maximize attribution and fair pay for artists and songwriters, and this demonstrates that win-win partnerships between music companies and platforms create an environment where innovation, artist compensation and next-generation fan experiences can coexist and move the industry forward.”

Spotify founder & CEO Daniel Ek had some thoughts as well. “UMG has consistently been a progressive partner on behalf of their artists and songwriters, contributing to our product development efforts of experimental tools and adopting them early to help artists stand out. The forthcoming features will put more power in the hands of artists and their teams to help them authentically express themselves, efficiently promote their work, and better monetize their art.”