(AllHipHop News) The impact of the “Streaming Wars” continues to shift the music industry.
A new licensing agreement between streaming service Spotify and record company Universal Music Group will affect certain consumers of the service.
The Verge reports the deal will give premium Spotify users access to new albums from UMG artists two weeks before free users.
“We know that not every album by every artist should be released the same way, and we’ve worked hard with UMG to develop a new, flexible release policy,” stated Spotify CEO Daniel Ek. “Starting today, Universal artists can choose to release new albums on premium only for two weeks, offering subscribers an earlier chance to explore the complete creative work, while the singles are available across Spotify for all our listeners to enjoy.”
The current Universal Music Group roster of acts includes Eminem, Kendrick Lamar, Drake, Lil Wayne, Nicki Minaj, YG, Big Sean, Rae Shremmurd, Fabolous, Pusha T, The Weeknd, and others.
Over the last several years, many artists have exclusively released their respective projects through streaming platforms such as Apple Music and Tidal.
However, there have been reports Universal Music Group blocked its subsidiary labels from allowing exclusive distribution deals with streaming services.
With the new Spotify/UMG agreement, industry insiders will be waiting to see if fellow record giants Warner Music Group and Sony Music strike similar deals.
As of March 2017, Spotify reportedly has over 50 million subscribers with over 100 million total active users.
