Spotify acquires licensing service Loudr to track publisher royalties, changes Australian agency

Spotify has acquired music licensing service Loudr, the firm set up in 2013 to identify, track and pay royalties to music publishers.

“What Loudr has built is more than just a smart and easy way for artists to obtain mechanical licenses; it’s true music industry innovation,” said Spotify’s global head of publishing Adam Parness.

“The Loudr team perfectly complements Spotify’s music publishing operation and, together, we believe we can continue to foster a more open, streamlined, and modern music publishing landscape.”

The move is the latest in Spotify’s “continued efforts towards a more transparent and efficient music publishing industry for songwriters and rights holders”.

The Loudr team of specialists and technologists will move into Spotify’s New York offices.

In addition to integrating with Spotify to further its publishing interests, Loudr’s team will continue to provide select services to its publishing and aggregator partners.

In the meantime Spotify has appointed Eleven to handle its public relations and social accounts for Australia and New Zealand.

It was previously five years with Adhesive PR.

Sophie Paterson, head of communications at Spotify Australia and New Zealand, said in a statement: “Spotify’s mission is to unlock the potential of human creativity—by giving a million creative artists the opportunity to live off their art and billions of fans the opportunity to enjoy and be inspired by it.

“When we reviewed our roster, Eleven was the partner best placed to support us on this mission.

“We were impressed with their creative and strategic thinking, and we’re excited to have them help drive our business forward as we head in to our sixth year in market.”