Spotify has signed a deal with Warner Music Group, the last of the big three international music labels, the two companies announced on April 1. This means that significant holdouts in the Spotify catalogue in India, such as Katy Perry, Ed Sheeran, Linkin Park and a slew of other artists under WMG, will now be available on the streaming service. Their absence was a significant competitive black mark for the service, whose pricing in India is among its lowest in the world. (This also means, incidentally, that I can finally retire this Twitter account.) The companies said in their statement: Spotify and Warner Music Group are pleased to announce a renewed global licensing partnership. This expanded deal covers countries where Spotify is available today, as well as additional markets. The two companies look forward to collaborating on impactful global initiatives for Warner artists and songwriters, and working together to grow the music industry over the long term. This development is notable for the year-long drama that has surrounded Spotify and Warner in India. Spotify also told Gadgets 360 yesterday that it had reached a deal with Saregama, the label whose catalogue it was forced to take off its platform in April 2019. Legal wrangling When Spotify was launched early last year, it was already locked in a court battle with Warner Chappell, a subsidiary of Warner Music Group. Spotify had taken advantage of a quirk of Indian copyright law — Section 31D of the Copyright Act — to invoke statutory…
