Universal Music Group (UMG) and Spotify Technology
Universal Music chair and CEO Sir Lucian Grainge said this agreement furthers and broadens collaboration with Spotify for its labels and music publishers, advancing artist-centric principles to drive greater monetization for artists and songwriters and enhancing product offerings for consumers.
Under the new agreements, Universal Music and Spotify will collaborate closely to advance the next era of streaming innovation.
Artists, songwriters and consumers will benefit from new and evolving offers, paid subscription tiers, music and non-music content bundling as well as a richer audio and visual content catalog.
The new publishing agreement establishes a direct license between Spotify and Universal Music Publishing Group across Spotify's current product portfolio in the U.S. and several other countries.
Goldman Sachs analyst Eric Sheridan flagged Spotify's moat in global audio, user engagement and margin boost post-2023 restructuring. Sheridan expects 2025 to mark the company's progress toward more consistent and sustained capital returns.
Morgan Stanley's Katy Huberty flagged Spotify as one of the companies positioned to benefit significantly from artificial intelligence adoption.
Spotify stock surged over 133% in the last 12 months. To boost profitability, Spotify downsized its workforce and cut marketing spending. The company also raised the prices of its U.S. plans to tap the demand for its premium products.
Price Action: SPOT stock is down 2.73% at $497.13 at the last check on Monday.
