Swift’s new deal paves way for other artists

Pop music titan Taylor Swift on Monday announced a new record deal with Universal Music Group that will give her greater control over her own music and could boost future payouts to artists for music played on streaming service Spotify.

Swift, who with best-selling albums like 1989 and Reputation is one of pop music’s wealthiest and most influential artists, said the deal with Universal Music Group (UMG) included an agreement that any potential sale of UMG’s shares in Spotify “result in a distribution of money to their artists, non-recoupable.”

“They have generously agreed to this, at what they believe will be much better terms and paid out previously by other major labels,” the Fearless singer told her 113 million Instagram followers in a posting.

Spotify, which with some 83 million paid subscribers is the world’s most popular paid music streaming service, went public in April. “I feel strongly that streaming was founded on and continues to thrive based on the magic created by artists, writers and producers,” Swift wrote.