Warner Music: Free Streaming Services Not Positive For Music Industry


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Warner Music’s chief executive , Edgar Bronfman Jr has announced plans that the label plans to stop licensing its artists’ content on free music software such as Last.FM and Spotify.

Acts such as REM, The Red Hot Chili Peppers and Muse may then not be available on new streaming services anymore.

Mr Bronfman Jr said that the kind of services offered by streaming sites were “clearly not positive” for the music industry, reports BBC News.

“Free streaming services are clearly not net positive for the industry and as far as Warner Music is concerned will not be licensed,” he explained of the decision. “The ‘get all your music you want for free, and then maybe with a few bells and whistles we can move you to a premium price strategy’, is not the kind of approach to business that we will be supporting in the future.”

A spokesman for Warner Music however confirmed that artists already hosted on applications such as Spotify,who are signed to the label, will continue to be available as streams and that the new plans are not likely to affect future deals.

The goal of Warner Music is to getting more people to take out subscriptions with applications unique to the company, where a set fee would be paid in return for content, Bronfman added.

Last month, La Roux’s debut album was removed from streaming services including Spotify and We7.


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