Skip to main content

Warner Music says it will share part of any potential Spotify windfall with its artists

During the company’s earnings call yesterday, Warner Music CEO Sam Cooper said that if the company ever receives a payment from Spotify as a result of the company being sold or going public, it will share part of that sum with its artists, Re/code reports.

“Today, we are confirming that in the event we do receive cash proceeds from the sale of these equity stakes, we will also share this revenue with our artists,” Cooper said. Warner Music is the first — and currently, only — company to make this type of promise.

Recommended Videos

Like many of the other major record labels, Warner owns small stakes in Spotify and SoundCloud, which are normally acquired as part of licensing deals for the labels’ music. Since the very beginning of these types of services, artists have complained that they aren’t being paid enough, while labels who own stakes in the streaming companies stand to profit twice. The move from Warner would go some way toward satisfying both complaints.

Spotify is currently valued at more than $8 billion, so even a small stake in the company could be worth a lot. Warner’s own stake could be worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Of course, this doesn’t necessarily mean a huge payday for artists.

In the event that Warner Music did receive this windfall from Spotify, it would use the same formula used to pay artists now. Since the formula is based on usage, less well known artists wouldn’t see much of a benefit. Even larger artists likely wouldn’t see huge sums, given the sheer number of artists the money would be split between.

Still, given the complaints about payments from Spotify, any extra sum would likely be welcome. The company is currently facing two class-action lawsuits, both of which involve alleged unpaid royalties. Late last year Camper van Beethoven and Cracker frontman David Lowery filed the first $150 million lawsuit, while the second suit, this time for $200 million, came just over two weeks later from artist Melissa Ferrick.

Kris Wouk
Former Contributor
Kris Wouk is a tech writer, gadget reviewer, blogger, and whatever it's called when someone makes videos for the web. In his…
How to download music from SoundCloud on desktop and mobile
Soundcloud Interface on a Macbook.

If you're a die-hard music fan, you probably keep a curated library of playlists packed with your favorite artists and albums on Spotify, Apple Music, or whatever your favorite music streaming app is. But how do you discover the best indie artists today? Some music-streaming platforms are better than others at celebrating the ‘unsung gem’ acts, but one of the most reliable forums for new, off-the-grid tunes is SoundCloud.

Founded in 2007, SoundCloud has always prioritized music that’s a bit under the radar. With over 320 million tracks in its library, the platform will even let you download a majority of its songs and albums.

Read more
The best kids headphones of 2025: for fun, safety, and sound
Two kids using the Puro Sound PuroQuiet Plus to watch something on a tablet.

Kid-friendly consumer tech is all the rage these days, so it’s no surprise that there’s an entire market of headphones designed exclusively for young ones. But when we think “kid-friendly,” sometimes we imagine products that are built to be a bit more throwaway than their adult counterparts. That’s not the case with the products on our list of the best headphones for kids, though.

We want our child-tailored headphones to include parental-controlled volume limiters, to ensure our children aren’t harming their eardrums. Pretty much every entry on our list checks this vital box, but we also wanted to point you and yours toward products that offer exceptional noise-canceling, built-in mics for phone and video calls, and long-lasting batteries for schooldays or a long flight.

Read more
How to master your equalizer settings for the perfect sound
An equalizer from eqMac.

Casual listeners might boot up Spotify or turn on the radio to listen to music without giving the balance or sound stage much thought. Audiophiles on the other hand like to dig a bit deeper and customize their experience. One common way to tinker with how music sounds is adjustments to the equalizer, which offers the freedom to tweak every aspect of the sound booming out of headphones or speakers. Even some streaming services now have built-in EQs, giving you more ways than ever to play with your music and find something that best fits your ears.

Shaping the equalizer to your preferences can be daunting to newcomers, as there are tons of cryptic settings you can manipulate. And if you mess with the wrong one, your sound quality might take a nasty hit. Thankfully, learning the basics isn't too difficult.

Read more