The agreement marks Spotify’s latest direct deal with a prominent music publisher and moves its agreement with Kobalt beyond the traditional CRB model in the US. This means that Kobalt’s direct deal supersedes the audiobook ‘bundling‘ payment structure that, starting in March last year, saw Spotify dramatically cut the rate of mechanical royalties paid to publishers and songwriters in the US.
Source: Kobalt inks direct licensing deal with Spotify in the US