Sony Music Group and Spotify have announced an extension and expansion of their global partnership that includes a new direct licensing arrangement for publishing in the U.S.

This move is notably significant because Sony — the world’s largest publishing company — was the last major publisher to remain under the statutory rates set by the Copyright Royalty Board; direct licensing allows much more freedom to negotiate, and the announcement states that it will “ensure [that] songwriters share more directly in the growth of streaming.” Universal, Warner and Kobalt publishing have all struck similar deals in recent months.

While terms of the deal were not announced, when Spotify’s pact with Universal was announced in January, sources stressed to Variety that the terms improved at least

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