Lizzo attends Apple Music documentary film premiere at The Metrograph in New York City. Photo: Paul ... [+]

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Apple Music has officially inked multiyear licensing deals with Sony Music, Universal Music, and Warner Music, according to a report in the Financial Times.

In an effort to drive Apple device users towards services, (which is where music falls - along with iCloud, payment services, and the App Store), the new deals secure streaming rights to music from artists including Lizzo, Adele, and Taylor Swift. Apple's services segment reached $12.7 billion in Q1 2020 - shooting up 17% from last year.

While these contract negotiations happen every few years between streaming services and music companies, "Spotify remains locked in licensing talks with Universal Music and Warner Music, with the two record labels extending their existing agreements on a monthly basis," said people familiar with the matter in the report.

Spotify and Sony Music came to an agreement in 2017 for their respective multiyear licensing deal.

With rumors of Apple bundling its TV+ video-on-demand service with News+ and Music some time this year, the newly inked deals may play into that strategy. While there are no economic agreements in the new deals for the bundle, it's possible they are on the way.

Apple's active installed base grew by over 100 million within the last year, surpassing 1.5 billion. The deals news comes during a time of potential global supply chain issues amid the coronavirus as portions of the company's iPhone manufacturing take place in Wuhan, China.

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