Music Publishing News Roundup 2.2.15: Sam Smith, Spotify, Jay Z and More
Sam Smith has added Tom Petty as a co-writer to his hit “Stay With Me” after Petty’s team discovered similarities between the song and Petty’s 1989 hit “I Won’t Back Down”. Smith and “Stay With Me” co-writers were unaware of the similarities till after releasing the song, and quickly came to an agreement with Petty and his collaborator Jeff Lynne after hearing the similarities. Petty had previously noted a similarity with his song “American Girl” and The Strokes “Last Nite” single but remains not listed as a songwriter.
Spotify is valued at $5.74 billion according to a recent report from merchant bank Manhattan Venture Research. This report follows MVR’s recent valuations of Pandora at $3.2 billion and Live Nation at $5.6 billion. MVR attributes this high valuation to the overall shift in user behavior from an ownership to access model, as well as Spotify’s recent partnerships with telecommunications companies and internet service providers.
Jay-Z has made a bid to acquire Tidal and Wimp streaming services in an effort to enter the music streaming market. Tidal, available in the US and UK offers high-quality streams for a higher subscription rate of $20/month compared to the $10/month rate most other services offer. The estimated $56 million deal is predicted to be finalized by March 11.
