Seeking partnerships: Spotify is making its catalogue of more than 30 million songs available on select Virgin America flights with WiFi in an attempt to win over more subscribers.
Music-streaming site Spotify has hired Lady Gaga's former manager Troy Carter to land deals with artists, in response to rivals using exclusive album releases to draw users. Becoming more like the old-school record labels it set out to disrupt may seem more appealing than paying sky-high costs for music rights.
The Swedish company headed by Daniel Ek has led the global music-streaming charge, but faces growing competition from Apple Music and Tidal. Its smaller rivals now lure new subscribers through special deals with artists. Tidal's agreement to exclusively stream Beyonce's new album Lemonade brought 1.2 million extra users, the company told the New York Times.
