It’s always interesting when private documents emerge from big corporations, exposing payouts, compensation models, and who’s making what. It’s even more interesting when those documents have to do with something—music—most people are interested in and a couple of companies—Sony and Spotify—most people have at least a passing familiarity with. The Verge somehow managed to obtain a copy of Sony Music Entertainment’s 2011 contract with Spotify. While it’s obviously fairly heavy on the legalese, a bunch of interesting stuff is revealed within, including how much Spotify paid Sony in yearly advances, the subscriber goals Spotify had to hit, and how streaming rates for the deal were calculated. Some details aren’t in the contract—like whether Sony kept its Spotify advances or disbursed them throughout its artists—but The Verge’s rundown of the whole document is pretty fascinating all the same. There are even charts and, c’mon, who doesn’t like charts?
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