LONDON — Warner Music International has agreed a content and revenue partnership with European online music community Music Makes Friends.
The Luxembourg-based company has already signed deals with the three other majors as well as thousands of indie labels. Warner’s digital catalog will be available on the service with immediate effect.
The on-demand streaming platform is available in France, Germany, the U.K., Spain, Belgium, Ireland, Austria, Luxembourg and Switzerland. Under the agreement, WMI and Music Makes Friends will share in revenue generated by the ad-supported streaming and subscription services.
Members can use the ad-supported streaming service to share full track playlists for free. A premium service costs 7 pounds ($13) a month and provides users with access to the premium catalog of more than two million songs and greater storage space for uploaded tracks.
“In partnering with a social networking site with music at its heart, we bolster our ability to directly connect with audiences who like to discover and share music,” WMI vp digital business Eric Daugan said. “Our agreement with Music Makes Friends is another example of how we continue to embrace and develop new ways to enjoy music, whilst ensuring that rights holders and artists are appropriately compensated.”
WMI-owned tracks have been uploaded by users of the free ad-funded service since Music Makes Friends launched in March, but the company said it disclosed this to the major and negotiations were already under way for their catalog to be licensed for the online community.
Music Makes Friends CEO Bruno Chauvat adds, “Our objective is to offer Music Makes Friends users streaming and on-demand access to as much music as possible. This partnership is a successful new step in that direction, considering that we are the first streaming platform able to offer in nine European countries the catalogs of the four majors and more than 9,000 independent labels.”
Warner Music U.K. recently agreed a partnership with ad-funded free streaming service We7 from October. Its digital catalog will also be available for purchase on the Oxford-based company’s intergrated download store.
