Sony Rethinks Spotify Collaboration, Taking a Cue from Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift’s eye-catching decision to yank her music from Spotify has prompted Sony Corporation to reconsider its collaboration with the free streaming music service, top executives said Tuesday.

Sony Music’s chief financial officer, Kevin Kelleher, told the Wall Street Journal that the 24-year-old pop singer’s decision has opened a new conversation in the executive suite. “Actually, a lot of conversation has taken place over the last week in the light of that,” Kelleher said. While Kelleher declared himself “very encouraged” by Spotify’s growth of paid subscribers, he said Sony executives had lingering concerns about Spotify’s free streaming service, which is supported by ad-based revenues.

“What it all really comes down to is how much value are the music company and the artist getting from the different consumption methods,” Kelleher said.

Swift has emerged as a vocal detractor of Spotify’s revenue sharing model, criticizing it as a raw deal for performing artists in a Wall Street Journal op-ed earlier this year.

Read more at the Wall Street Journal.