SFX Entertainment-owned Beatport has partnered with Spotify. Beatport will distribute exclusive music and video content to Spotify, including music exclusive to Beatport and SFX programming.
This is a little weird, since Beatport has their own free streaming service which is meant to attract more users.
But Beatport will gain distribution to a wider audience with this partnership, and Spotify will have trendy new EDM content. Indeed, Spotify’s inability to properly license EDM has proven to be a huge Achille’s Heel against the likes of YouTube and SoundCloud, both of whom have amassed huge collections of DJ mixes, live sets, and mash-ups through loopholed rights structures. In the case of SoundCloud, the royalty-free party could end soon, though Google has a war chest in the billions to defend a controversial, DMCA-powered upload-and-takedown approach to rights licensing.
Beatport says they are negotiating other distribution partnerships as well, though none at this scale.
Nina Ulloa covers breaking news, tech, and more: @nine_u