SPOTIFY ENDS DIRECT POSTING FOR INDIES

Spotify is getting out of the distribution business, shutting its program that allowed independent artists the opportunity to upload their music directly to the streaming service.

Spotify notified participating artists that it would be closing the beta program, along with tips on how to move their music to other distributors over the next month. At the end of July, Spotify will stop accepting any new uploads through Spotify for Artists, and artists will need to move their already released content to another provider.

After less than a year of operating the program, Spotify found, “he best way for us to serve artists and labels is to focus our resources on developing tools in areas where Spotify can uniquely benefit them — like Spotify for Artists and our playlist submission tool,” the company wrote on its blog.

Spotify noted that it would be adding to both areas in the near future.