After months of negotiations and legal proceedings, Spotify and Warner Music Group have finally renewed their global licensing deal.
The announcement is a great relief for Spotify India users since songs of thousands of famous artists such as Ed Sheeran, Coldplay, Linkin Park, etc. will, at last, be available on the platform.
“We are pleased to announce a renewed global licensing partnership. This expanded deal covers countries where Spotify is available today, as well as additional markets.”
The news comes after Spotify signed a licensing agreement with Warner Chappel, a music publishing company owned by the Warner Music group.
In addition to this, Spotify has also cracked a deal with Saregama, one of the oldest music labels in India. This will make thousands of oldies available on the platform
Spotify vs. Warner Music
The fight between Spotify and Warner Music group started just before the launch of the music streaming service in India. “For reasons unrelated to Spotify’s launch in India,” Warner pulled out of a previously published licensing deal.
However, global deals don’t have any hold on expanding into new territories. Spotify, anyway, tried to go ahead with the launch by leveraging an Indian law, where broadcasters can obtain copyright licenses even if the owner denies it.
In response, Warner filed for an injunction in the Indian court. Meanwhile, Spotify launched its service in India without the song catalog from Warner Bros.
Spotify is known to be one of the best music streaming platforms globally. So, observing thousands of songs unavailable on the platform surprised the Indian users. Many have even left the platform since local music platforms and the new entrant YouTube Music offer way more songs.
With Warner music back with Spotify, the music streaming service has finally got rid of its most significant bottleneck. Now, users can listen to songs hassle-free from all famous artists. Spotify premium is Rs. 119 per month while the family plan is Rs. 179 per month.
