Apple Music Signs New Multiyear Deals With World's Largest Record Labels

Apple Music has secured new deals for songs from major record labels that include Universal Music, Sony Music, and Warner Music, reports Financial Times.

applemusic
The licensing deals, which have been signed "in recent months," will allow for music from popular artists like Taylor Swift, Lizzo, Adele, and others to continue to be streamed on the ‌Apple Music‌ service.

There are no terms in the deals for bundling ‌Apple Music‌ with Apple TV+, so despite rumors that Apple is working on bundling its subscription services, such a bundle does not appear to be in the works at this time.

Apple revisits deals with major record labels every few years to determine royalty rates and renew rights to songs. Apple has inked multiyear deals at this time, but ‌Apple Music‌ competitor Spotify is said to be having a harder time.

Spotify has been in licensing talks with Universal Music and Warner Music for approximately a year and the record labels have been extending existing agreements on a month by month basis as they work to agree on new terms.

As of last summer, ‌Apple Music‌ had 60 million paid subscribers. Apple hasn't released updated data since then, but Spotify in October said that it had 113 million paying subscribers.

Popular Stories

apple wallet drivers license feature iPhone 15 pro teal 1

Apple Says iPhone Driver's Licenses Coming to These 8 U.S. States, But Rollout Remains Slow

Wednesday March 19, 2025 6:55 am PDT by
In select U.S. states, residents can add their driver's license or state ID to the Wallet app on the iPhone and Apple Watch, providing a convenient and contactless way to display proof of identity or age at select airports and businesses, and in select apps. Unfortunately, this feature continues to roll out very slowly. It has been three and a half years since Apple first announced the...
iOS 19 visionOS UI Elements

iOS 19 to Have Some of the 'Biggest' Design Changes in iPhone's History

Sunday March 16, 2025 10:35 am PDT by
Apple is planning some of the "biggest iOS and macOS redesigns in its history," according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In his Power On newsletter today, Gurman reiterated that iOS 19 will have a visionOS-like design with more transparent interfaces:The new interfaces will adopt the design principles introduced in visionOS, the software for Apple's Vision Pro headset. That includes greater...
iphone 16 pro ghost hand

Next Year's iPhone 18 Pro Already Rumored to Have Five New Features

Tuesday March 18, 2025 1:00 pm PDT by
While the iPhone 18 Pro models are still around a year and a half away from launching, there are already some early rumors about the devices. Below, we recap some key iPhone 18 Pro rumors so far. Under-Screen Face ID In April 2023, display industry analyst Ross Young shared a roadmap showing that iPhone 17 Pro models would feature under-display Face ID. In May 2024, however, Young said ...
iphone 16 pro models 1

Apple's First Foldable iPhone Estimated to Cost Nearly Twice as Much as iPhone 16 Pro Max

Monday March 17, 2025 6:42 am PDT by
In an investor research note today with British bank Barclays, analyst Tim Long said Apple's first foldable iPhone could have a starting price in the $2,300 range in the United States, which would make it by far the most expensive iPhone model ever. If the first foldable iPhone starts at $2,299, that means it would cost nearly twice as much as the iPhone 16 Pro Max, which starts at $1,199. ...
Bent iPhone Air Feature

Apple Canned Larger iPhone 17 Air Model Over Fears of Bendgate 2.0

Monday March 17, 2025 4:07 am PDT by
Apple prototyped a larger ultra-slim iPhone 17 Air with a 6.9-inch display, but ultimately decided not to go ahead with the device because of fears that it could be susceptible to bending, according to a new report. Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman, writing in his latest Power On newsletter: When it first started work on the phone, it prototyped a device with a 6.9-inch screen — matching...
iphone 16 pro models 1

All Four iPhone 17 Models Rumored to Feature Upgraded 24-Megapixel Front Camera and More

Monday March 17, 2025 7:50 pm PDT by
All four iPhone 17 models launching later this year will feature an upgraded 24-megapixel front-facing camera, according to analyst Jeff Pu. In a research note today with investment firm GF Securities, Pu shared a chart in which he reiterated that the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max will each be equipped with a 24-megapixel front camera. By comparison, all four ...
General iOS Mail Feature

iOS 18.3.2 Broke iCloud Mail Delivery

Monday March 17, 2025 3:31 pm PDT by
The iOS 18.3.2 update that Apple released last week appears to have broken iCloud Mail for some users. There are multiple complaints on Reddit and the MacRumors forums from users who say that iCloud Mail is not able to push new iCloud emails to their iPhones after the iOS 18.3.2 update. Affected users say that despite having the correct settings enabled, new iCloud emails are not showing up...
iphone 17 pro asherdipps

iPhone 17 Pro Max Rumors Allegedly Refer to 'iPhone 17 Ultra' Model

Friday March 14, 2025 7:56 am PDT by
If you've been following iPhone rumors over the last few years, you may remember reading reports that Apple flirted with the idea of introducing a super high-end "Ultra" model that would either replace its Pro Max device or sit above it in Apple's smartphone hirearchy. These reports appeared in the pre-launch iPhone 15 and iPhone 16 rumor cycles, but ultimately came to nothing. Now though, the...

Top Rated Comments

H3LL5P4WN Avatar
66 months ago
Any mention of Apple Music increasing payout to artists?
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
sos47 Avatar
66 months ago
When does Apple Music support ALAC (or ... FLAC)?
thank you for any hint
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Michael Scrip Avatar
66 months ago

I would be interested to hear a response to this from someone who knows the answer. At least in the media, streaming companies are criticized for how much money is paid to artists, making it seem as if streaming companies like Spotify and Apple are at fault for the amounts artists receive.
All I know is this... the music industry has never been fair to the artist. There are too many fingers in the pie.

In the old days... artists would be lucky to make $1 for each $16 CD sold. The other $15 went to labels, producers, songwriters, distributors, manufacturing, retailers, etc.

The artists were getting screwed long before we had MP3s and streaming.

I'm assuming it's the same today... where the artist still only gets a tiny portion.

We know Apple and Spotify pay royalties for every song streamed. But I'm guessing it then gets split among of those entities listed above.

I, too, would love to know the intricacies of how this all works.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
H3LL5P4WN Avatar
66 months ago

When does Apple Music support ALAC (or ... FLAC)?
thx
Dude.

(Probably when they release a 1tb iPhone.)
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Michael Scrip Avatar
66 months ago

Any mention of Apple Music increasing payout to artists?
Isn't that between the labels and the artists?

If artists aren't getting enough money... I'd think it would be the labels' fault (Universal, Sony, Warner)... not the distribution mechanism (streaming services, record stores, etc)
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
gsmornot Avatar
66 months ago
Streaming was the answer to theft. People are more likely to contribute revenue if it's affordable. Like it or not, the money streaming does pay is better than the alternative.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)