Spotify has reached a global licensing agreement with Warner Music, paving the way for its forthcoming US stock market listing. “It’s taken us a while to get here, but it’s been worth it, as we’ve arrived at a balanced set of future-focused deal terms,” said Warner Music Group chief digital officer Ole Obermann in an announcement on social media. Earlier this year, Spotify signed multi-year licensing deals with the world’s two largest music labels – Vivendi’s Universal Music Group (UMG) and Sony Music Entertainment – and in July the company reached 60 million paying subscribers, adding 10 million subscribers in less than five months.
In total, the streaming music service has over 140 million users, including its ad-supported free service. According to recent reports, Spotify is planning to list shares directly on the New York Stock Exchange toward the end of this year or the beginning of the next.
