{"id":1958345,"date":"2025-08-13T17:40:26","date_gmt":"2025-08-13T17:40:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=1958345"},"modified":"2025-08-13T17:40:26","modified_gmt":"2025-08-13T17:40:26","slug":"spotify-inks-new-partnership-with-kobalt-to-help-songwriters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/spotify-inks-new-partnership-with-kobalt-to-help-songwriters\/","title":{"rendered":"Spotify inks new partnership with Kobalt to help songwriters"},"content":{"rendered":"

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It may take a long time for Spotify to win back the trust of some of the biggest songwriters in the world, but it seems like the streamer is at least taking steps to win back public approval. <\/span>Per <\/span>The Hollywood Reporter<\/span><\/i><\/a>, Spotify just signed a new direct licensing deal with Kobalt, \u201cthe largest independent music publisher dedicated to fighting for the rights of songwriters,\u201d as its CEO Laurent Hubert characterized it in a statement. The new partners didn\u2019t provide many details on their contract, but shared that the multi-year agreement would \u201cdeliver greater flexibility, efficiency, value, and protections to songwriters in the U.S.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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For months now, songwriters have spoken out after they claimed a change in Spotify\u2019s <\/span>bundled payment strategy<\/span><\/a> drastically decreased the royalties they received for their work. In April of last year, the streamer added audiobooks to its premium tier and began splitting the pot of available residuals between both music and book publishers. While Spotify <\/span>claimed in March<\/span><\/a> that it had paid $4.5 billion to songwriters and publishers over the past two years, the National Music Publishers Association <\/span>said in June<\/span><\/a> that publishers lost $230 million last year due to the controversial bundling strategy. Earlier this year, the conflict between Spotify and songwriters got so bad that several Grammy-nominated writers <\/span>boycotted<\/span><\/a> the company\u2019s annual award season party.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Hubert, however, is optimistic that the new deal is \u201ca step in the right direction.\u201d \u201cThis deal reaffirms our unwavering commitment to ensuring our songwriters are paid fairly for their work, and underscores the importance of progressive licensing models that re\ufb02ect the real-world use of music across digital platforms,\u201d he continued in his statement. \u201cWe look forward to continuing to work with Spotify to increase the value of songwriter royalties.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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The Kobalt deal is one of several Spotify has made recently. The streamer also partnered with Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group, and Warner Chappell earlier this year, per <\/span>THR<\/span><\/i>. \u201cWe\u2019ve always believed that better partnerships lead to better outcomes,\u201d Spotify co-president and chief business officer Alex Norstr\u00f6m said in his own statement. \u201cThis agreement with Kobalt boosts our support of songwriters through a licensing model that unlocks new growth and will expand the way music is made and shared today.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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