A deal made by Taylor Swift in 2018 will see Universal Music Group’s artists profit from the record label’s sale of their Spotify stake.
Taylor Swift’s deal benefitted all UMG artists
The 36-year-old singer signed a deal with the label in 2018 shortly after the release of her album Reputation, at a time when rivals Sony Music and Warner Music Group had just sold their stakes in the streaming service, with both of those labels offering different deals to their artists.
Any artists managed by Sony at the time received payment from the deal, regardless of whether they owed any money back to the label for their original record deal, but those signed to Warner were only paid out if the label had already recouped the money from their original deal, meaning the latter label earned a higher profit.
As a result, Taylor’s negotiations for her UMG deal took the situation into account and she requested Universal ensured they followed the example set by Sony by making any future sale of their Spotify shares non-recoupable, meaning all their acts would benefit from any deal.
And with UMG ready to sell half their Spotify stake, all artists signed to the label – which, apart from Taylor herself, includes the likes of SZA, Sabrina Carpenter, Ariana Grande and Kendrick Lamar – will benefit.
Taylor highlighted the clause when she first signed her record deal.
She wrote on Instagram at the time: “As part of my new contract with Universal Music Group, I asked that any sale of their Spotify shares 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 than paid out previously than other major labels.
“I see this as a sign that we are headed towards positive change for creators — a goal I’m never going to stop trying to help achieve, in whatever ways I can.”
UMG revealed their plans to sell half its equity stake in Spotify in its reporting of financial results for the first quarter of 2026.
Sir Lucian Grainge, UMG’s Chairman and CEO, said: “We delivered a solid quarter of growth in our core businesses, complemented by our strategic development and investment in fast-growing areas of the industry.
“We continue to build the most successful music company in history by attracting the world’s top talent, engaging fans globally, and delivering long-term value for stakeholders.
“Central to that mission is fostering an environment that protects artists and songwriters, champions human creativity, and embraces innovation at a pivotal moment for our industry.”
Matt Ellis, CFO of UMG, added in a statement: “Against the backdrop of a healthy industry, we are consistently driving sustained revenue growth through our multi-faceted strategy, while continuing to expand EBITDA and reinvest for the future.
“In addition, the important steps we are announcing today to increase our share buyback authorization and monetize a portion of our equity stake in Spotify will lead to enhanced shareholder value while maintaining the flexibility the Company requires to drive further success.”
This isn’t the first time that the Opalite singer has used her clout to negotiate for other artists.
In 2014, she removed all her music from streaming services in protest about how artists were not being paid per stream.
The following year, she shared an open letter to Apple Music to criticise their three-month trial period for users, which would prevent musicians getting streaming payouts.
She wrote at the time: “This is not about me. Thankfully, I am on my fifth album and I can support myself, my band, crew and entire management team by playing live shows. This is about the new artists who just released their first singles and will not be paid for its success.”
Less than 24 hours later, Apple reversed their stance.
