Spotify hires former Pandora exec for publisher licensing role

Spotify has hired Adam Parness as its new head of global publisher licensing. Parness most recently spent about a year with Pandora as head of publisher licensing and relations. Before Pandora, he was at Amazon, and helped guide global publishing initiatives that helped launch Prime Music.

In his new position at Spotify, Parness will be responsible for forging the company’s relationships with publishers and songwriters. Mechanical royalties have been a sticking point for Spotify over the years. It arranged a settlement with the NMPA over unpaid mechanical royalties, but some artists have criticized that deal.