Music Discovery Central to Spotify, UMG Multiyear Licensing

Spotify and Universal Music Group signed a multiyear global license agreement, they said Wednesday. The agreement covers a “shared commitment to music’s continued growth, deeper music discovery experiences and collaboration on new, state-of-the-art marketing campaigns across Spotify’s platform.” UMG will be an “early adopter” of future products and provide feedback to Spotify’s development team, they said. The agreement expands on Spotify’s Marquee recommendation feature and Canvas looping visuals that accompany music tracks, and the companies will build new tools and offerings for artists. The goal of Spotify's Marketplace strategy is to "harness Spotify’s ability to connect artists with fans on a scale that has never before existed and bring new opportunities to the industry,” said Spotify CEO Daniel Ek. The partnership “will provide our artists with new and powerful opportunities to connect with fans on Spotify’s growing platform,” said Universal CEO Lucian Grainge.