Universal Music has struck a deal to reshape the economics of music streaming, with changes aimed at directing more money to professional musicians and away from a “sea of noise” that chief executive Lucian Grainge has criticised this year.
The world’s largest record company and the French streaming service Deezer have agreed an arrangement they expect will lift payouts to professional artists by 10 per cent, in the first big shift in the music streaming business model since the launch of Spotify in 2008.
As part of the new model, streams of songs from professional artists — defined as those who generate at least 1,000 listens a month — will be given double the weight of streams from non-professionals when calculating royalty payments.