Taylor Swift announced on Instagram Monday that she signed a multi-year agreement with Universal Music Group and its subsidiary Republic Records.
While terms of the deal were not announced, Swift stated in a Tumblr post that she will own her master recordings going forward and that UMG will share with artists the proceeds from the expected sale of its Spotify equity, and make them non-recoupable against the artists’ earnings, as Sony Music has done.
“It’s also incredibly exciting to know that I’ll own all of my master recordings that I make from now on,” she wrote.
Swift also shared that as part of her new deal she asked for “one condition” aimed at ensuring that artists are compensated fairly for their Spotify presence.
The deal states UMG’s sales of its Spotify shares will result in money distributed to the label’s artists, a point of the deal that Swift noted “meant more to me than any other deal point.”
This part is HUGE!
“As part of my new contract with Universal Music Group, I asked that any sale of their Spotify shares result in a distribution of money to their artists, non-recoupable,” she wrote. “They have generously agreed to this, at what they believe will be much better terms than paid out previously by other major labels. I see this as a sign that we are headed towards positive changes for creators – a goal I’m never going to stop trying to help achieve, in whatever ways I can.”
Swift’s agreement with UMG formalizes the company’s commitment to sharing the wealth with its artists. Music Business Worldwide estimates UMG’s Spotify shares are worth around $850 million.
Sir Lucian Grainge, Chairman and CEO of Universal Music Group, said in the official statement: “Because of her commitment to her fellow artists, not only did she want to partner with a company that understood her creative vision and had the resources and expertise to execute globally on her behalf, she also sought a partner whose approach to artists was aligned with hers.”
“With these shared beliefs, there is so much we can accomplish together, and all of us at UMG are enormously proud to be embarking on the next chapter of her career alongside her.”
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