The lawsuit further claimed that Spotify was illegally under-paying songwriters while handing “outrageous annual salaries to its executives”.
Copyrights represented by Wixen include classic songs by the likes of Neil Young, Tom Petty and The Doors (pictured).
Spotify said today (December 20) that the end of the litigation represented “a broader business partnership between the parties, which fairly and reasonably resolves the legal claims asserted by Wixen Music Publishing relating to past licensing of Wixen’s catalog and establishes a mutually-advantageous relationship for the future”.
Wixen founder and President, Randall Wixen, said “I want to thank Daniel Ek and Horacio Gutierrez, and the whole Spotify team, for working with the Wixen team, our attorneys and our clients to understand our issues, and for collaborating with us on a win-win resolution.
“Spotify is a huge part of the future of music, and we look forward to bringing more great music from our clients to the public on terms that compensate songwriters and publishers as important partners. I am truly glad that we were able to come to a resolution without litigating the matter. Spotify listened to our concerns, collaborated with us to resolve them and demonstrated throughout that Spotify is a true partner to the songwriting community”
“Spotify is a huge part of the future of music, and we look forward to bringing more great music from our clients to the public on terms that compensate songwriters and publishers as important partners.”
Randall Wixen
Horacio Gutierrez, General Counsel and VP, Business & Legal Affairs, Spotify, said: “We’d like to thank Randall Wixen and Wixen Music Publishing for their cooperation in helping us reach a solution.
“Wixen represents some of the world’s greatest talents and most treasured creators, and this settlement represents its commitment to providing first-rate service and support to songwriters while broadening its relationship with Spotify.”
Today’s news follows a number of recent initiatives from Spotify aimed at bringing it closer to the songwriting and producer community.
