Universal Music chief Lucian Grainge has scored his first victory in a war against “noise”.
The proliferation of low quality content on streaming services poses a threat to artists and music rights holders such as Universal. Examples include the sound of a washing machine. Dull as that may be, such downloads are currently rewarded in the same way as a Rolling Stones song when it comes to streaming royalties. The rise of generative AI will only add to the problem.
On Wednesday, Universal struck a deal with French streaming group Deezer. This should see more royalties flow to music rights holders. Universal calls it a new “artist-centric” model. Label-centric might be more apt.