Spotify is planning to ask music labels for the right to extend its free pricing tier to mobile devices, reports The Verge. The music subscription service is set to meet with music labels in the coming weeks to renew their licensing agreements. Reportedly, they will also ask for substantial price breaks.
The Stockholm-based Spotify has already started negotiations with Warner Music and will begin talks with Sony and Universal in the coming weeks, according to several music industry sources. (A Spotify spokesperson declined to comment on this story.) These negotiations with music’s "big three" labels will likely go a long way to determining whether Spotify reaches profitability, a crucial threshold as it increasingly competes with Apple and other cash-rich players in the digital music market.
While its unclear if the labels will be more flexible in pricing or licensing, it's widely believed that a deal will be reached.
"Everybody in the industry wants to see Spotify succeed," one industry insider told The Verge. "Nobody in the industry can afford to see them go down the tubes."
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The Stockholm-based Spotify has already started negotiations with Warner Music and will begin talks with Sony and Universal in the coming weeks, according to several music industry sources. (A Spotify spokesperson declined to comment on this story.) These negotiations with music’s "big three" labels will likely go a long way to determining whether Spotify reaches profitability, a crucial threshold as it increasingly competes with Apple and other cash-rich players in the digital music market.
While its unclear if the labels will be more flexible in pricing or licensing, it's widely believed that a deal will be reached.
"Everybody in the industry wants to see Spotify succeed," one industry insider told The Verge. "Nobody in the industry can afford to see them go down the tubes."
Read More