The Verge Obtains Contract Between Sony, Spotify

In what is bound to be the biggest music industry news of the day, we’ve all gotten to see the holy grail of contracts thanks to the folks at The Verge.
The contract was written in 2011 by Sony and illustrates what has long been suspected by many who have become well versed in streaming; that Spotify has taken a lot of flack for the major labels’ scumbaggery. For the first time we can see specific numbers which have been shrouded behind NDAs. We now know that Spotify paid Sony up to $42.5 million in advances, none of which is likely to have gone to artists. There were also clauses which indicated Spotify had to pay the Sony the difference if another label ended up with a more favorable contract, Sony got $9m in free ad space which they have the option to sell, and more. The full contract is available on The Verge website and should be read in its entirety. Micah Singleton’s accompanying article is also fantastic and a really thorough look at the contract and each of its clauses.

Read it here!