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Spotify Premium users, climb your high horses: you’re about to get new releases 2 weeks early

Spotify has agreed to a new licensing agreement with Universal Music Group, the companies announced today.

As part of the deal, they have agreed to allow new albums from Universal artists to be restricted to its premium service for up to two weeks moving forward, confirming a report from last month. The streaming service will also pay slightly less to UMG in royalty fees, according to sources close to the situation.

spotify two 2 weeks early spotify premium universal music

In a deal with Universal Music Group, Spotify has announced a new system allowing artists to release their music two weeks early to Premium users.

In a statement, Spotify CEO Daniel Ek admitted that Spotify understands that its policy of releasing albums across its entire service couldn’t last forever.

“We know that not every album by every artist should be released the same way, and we’ve worked hard with UMG to develop a new, flexible release policy,” Ek stated.

“Starting today, Universal artists can choose to release new albums on premium only for two weeks, offering subscribers an earlier chance to explore the complete creative work, while the singles are available across Spotify for all our listeners to enjoy.”

The agreement with UMG should allow for deals with the company’s other two major label partners, Warner Music Group and Sony Music Group, to be completed in short order — deals that likely will match the parameters set in the Spotify-UMG deal — paving the way for their initial public offering.

This article originally appeared on The Verge.