Common Music Group (UMG) and Amazon Music have collectively introduced a renewed worldwide licensing settlement at present (December 23).
In line with a press launch, the deal encompasses an “expanded world relationship that can allow additional innovation, unique content material with UMG artists, and development of artist-centric rules together with elevated fraud safety“.
The PR claims that the deal will make sure that “UMG’s artists obtain their industrial potential by way of [Amazon Music’s] continued product enhancements and unique content material that elevate genuine engagement between artists and followers“.
Talking in an announcement at present, Common Music Group CEO & Chairman, Sir Lucian Grainge, commented: “We’re very excited to advance our long-standing, wonderful partnership with Amazon Music that marks a brand new period in streaming — Streaming 2.0.”
This isn’t the primary time we’ve heard “Streaming 2.0” talked about by Grainge and his administration workforce.
It was on the middle of UMG’s Capital Markets Day for traders in September, the place it was defined that for UMG, ‘Streaming 2.0’ represents a brand new period of digital music held on modifications, together with:
- (a) Streaming subscription choices turning into ‘segmented’, with costlier choices for music ‘superfans’;
- (b) Subscription ARPU (common income per consumer) shifting upwards throughout music platforms, partly on account of the aforementioned ‘superfan’-targeted choices, and partly on account of future streaming worth rises.
A further key pillar of ‘Streaming 2.0’ is the adoption of what UMG calls “artist-centric rules” by streaming platforms.
In brief, ‘artist-centric’ changes have an effect on the way in which music streaming platforms pay out royalties, sometimes benefitting artists who’ve constructed vital fanbases vs. acts with fewer than 1,000 month-to-month listeners.
‘Artist-centric’ additionally encompasses a mission to curb the impression of streaming ‘fraud’ on platforms, together with makes an attempt by organized criminals to make use of ‘pretend’ performs of AI music to extract cash from the royalty pool.
Commenting additional on the brand new Amazon deal, Sir Lucian Grainge mentioned: “We admire Amazon Music’s deep dedication to the pursuits of our artists, and look ahead to progressing our shared artist-centric targets by way of product innovation and accelerating development of their service.”
Steve Growth, VP of Audio, Twitch and Video games for Amazon, added: “UMG has all the time been a collaborative associate to Amazon Music, and as we proceed to invent and introduce extra artist-to-fan connections by way of our product and unique content material, we’re redefining what it means to be a streaming service.
“We’re thrilled to develop our relationship with UMG which can allow us to associate on significant new methods for artists to deepen their engagement with followers world wide, whereas working collectively to guard the work of artists, songwriters and publishers.”
Curiously, the brand new settlement features a pledge from UMG to “collaborate with Amazon Music because it continues to develop in audio, together with additional innovation in audiobooks, audio and visible programming, and its funding in livestreamed content material”.
The point out of audiobooks there comes round one month after Amazon introduced it was making Audible audiobooks obtainable for Amazon Music Limitless subscribers.
In distinction to a separate (and now-infamous) audiobook bundling transfer from Spotify earlier this 12 months, the Amazon announcement was met with the blessing of main music publishers.
The press launch issued by Amazon and UMG at present additional mentions each side’ dedication to “advance and safeguard human artistry” – a reference to addressing points brought on by AI-generated content material.Music Enterprise Worldwide
