Spotify expands Merlin deal to cover and remix tool, aiming to route fan-made creations back to rightsholders

Spotify said it has reached a new licensing agreement with Merlin to cover fan-made covers and remixes on its upcoming tool for creators and listeners. The partnership is designed to let artists represented by independent-label licensing services under Merlin’s existing Spotify agreement choose whether their music can be used in the feature, while ensuring creators are credited and compensated.

The companies said the licensing arrangement applies to Spotify’s upcoming fan-made covers and remixing tool, which is intended to give listeners a new way to interact with songs through participatory creations. Spotify said participating artists and songwriters will be credited, and that the mechanism is designed so that each fan creation drives listeners back to the underlying original work.

Spotify also said the fan-creation feature will launch as a paid add-on. In the companies’ description, that pricing is meant to create an additional revenue stream for participating artists, rather than leaving monetization entirely to the platform or to the audience engagement itself.

Charlie Hellman, Spotify’s SVP and Global Head of Music, said the agreement helps ensure that “participating artists are credited and compensated” and that every creation routes listeners back to the original track. He added that Spotify wants to extend the model to the “independent community” and attract more partners over time.

Merlin CEO Charlie Lexton said the deal gives Merlin’s member artists the ability to opt in to make their music available as part of the technology, and also to participate in an additional revenue stream. Lexton characterized Spotify’s stance toward Merlin members’ and their artists’ rights as “exemplary,” calling the decision to work on the project straightforward.

The announcement positions Merlin as a gatekeeper for rights across a large segment of independent music. Merlin described itself as the digital music licensing partner for independent labels and distributors, and said it has negotiated deals with major platforms including Spotify and other technology and media companies such as Apple and YouTube, among others.

In addition to deal count and partner examples, Merlin provided figures about its footprint and governance. It said its global membership spans more than 70 countries and represents 15% of the global recorded music market, and that it is funded entirely by a low 1.5% administration fee. Merlin also said it operates for the benefit of its members, naming a wide range of independent labels as part of its membership ecosystem.

Spotify’s announcement did not provide detailed terms of the licensing economics, such as the revenue share percentage for participating artists, how credits appear to listeners, or which specific catalog titles will be eligible at launch. It also did not specify whether opt-in participation is limited by geography, language, or genre, or how disputes or takedown requests would be handled for fan-made creations.

The next phase for the partnership will be less about the agreement itself and more about rollout. Observers will be watching how Spotify operationalizes opt-in participation through Merlin, whether the paid add-on model is adopted by artists and listeners at scale, and how creators and audiences experience attribution and linking back to original works once the tool becomes available.