Adam Parness is departing Spotify. He joined the streaming service in 2017 for a post as global head of publishing, and has played a key role in building up the visibility of songwriters and producers within Spotify’s ecosystem. He also did behind-the-scenes work in building industry support for the Music Modernization Act. Parness’ exit will take effect on June 3, and he has not detailed what his next move will be.
Spotify is in a delicate position with the music industry. It is participating in an appeal of the Copyright Royalty Board’s mechanical royalty rates, which sparked a vocal and vicious reaction from publishing trade groups. That tension is likely to continue as the government and music industry move ahead with implementating the changes to mechanical royalties stemming from the passage of the Music Modernization Act.