Spotify has signed its share of dirty contracts, but they also pay
70% of subscription revenue back to rights owners, including indie labels and artists. “We pay out nearly 70% of our total revenue to rights holders,” the company
flatly stated this year. “We retain approximately 30%.”
Sheriff Apple has something different in mind. According to contract details just leaked this morning to Digital Music News, Apple will be paying a sharp discount of
58% on subscription revenuesearned on Apple Music, including individual ($9.99/mo) and family ($14.99/mo) accounts.
The contract also stipulates that on free trial and comp accounts, rights owners will receive
0%.
Apple Music,
announced on Monday, officially launches on June 30th for iOS devices like iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Android is next, and Apple anticipates attracting
100 million paying subscribers.
This doesn’t include major labels (and associated publishers), who signed their own, first-run deals ahead of the announcement of ‘Apple Music’ on Monday.
