Spotify Retreats From Artists’ Uploads in Win for Music Labels

(Bloomberg) -- Spotify Technology SA is shutting down a program that allowed independent artists to upload their music directly to the music streaming service, a win for record labels and smaller distributors.

The online service will stop accepting any new uploads through Spotify for Artists, and artists will need to move their already released content to another provider, the company said Monday in a blog post.

Spotify launched the program almost a year ago, acting essentially as a label for artists who didn’t have major backing and offering them a larger share of the royalties that their songs produce. The move was also a way for the service to keep more of its revenue and narrow its losses, which are driven by high content costs.

While Spotify’s growth has buoyed the entire music industry, the push into additional services for artists has complicated its negotiations for continued access to songs from major labels, which viewed the effort as a way to cut their share of sales.

To contact the reporter on this story: Lucas Shaw in Los Angeles at lshaw31@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Nick Turner at nturner7@bloomberg.net, Rob Golum

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