SPOTIFY DEALS: TWO
DOWN, TWO TO GO

Spotify and the indie labels repped by Merlin—20,000 in all—agreed on a new licensing deal today.

“The agreement is structured to reflect and promote the value of Merlin’s collective offering of its members’ repertoire, while offering improved marketing and advertising opportunities and enhanced access to data,” reads a statement released by the org.

The statement also confirms that the indie deal includes the option of windowing releases on Spotify’s premium tier for up to two weeks post-release date, a feature of the service’s recently finalized deal with UMG. Merlin refers to it as a “flexible release policy.”

Said a “delighted” Martin Mills, Beggars Group chief, Merlin Chairman and indie icon, “We’ve been great partners for each other, and this updated arrangement allows independents in the Merlin community the comfort of knowing they have a highly competitive deal and parity of access to the service, whilst creating a commercial environment in which Spotify can grow to the benefit of all of us.”

Meanwhile, the deal with WMG, which some believed was imminent, is still not done, while Sony Music and Spotify remain at an impasse.

Indie music has been a huge part of our success since day one & I am super happy to say we have a new, multi-year deal w/ @merlinnetwork 💚

— Daniel Ek (@eldsjal) April 20, 2017