Spotify was duidelijk erg blij met de eigen kwartaalcijfers voor het eerste kwartaal van dit jaar. Logisch, want na jaren van investeren lukt het eindelijk om naast een prima omzet ook winst te maken, en de vooruitzichten van de marktleider zien er prima uit.

Maar er lijkt een probleem te zijn, want de National Music Publishers Association (NMPA) in de VS blijkt te vinden dat Spotify niet voldoende royalties betaalt.



Hieronder de brief die de NMPA  aan Spotify heeft gestuurd in zijn geheel:

It has come to our attention that Spotify displays lyrics and reproduces and distributes music videos and podcasts using musical works without the consent of or compensation to the respective publishers and/or administrators (our members) who control the copyrights in the musical compositions. As such, these uses of musical works on the Spotify platform are not licensed or will soon become unlicensed.

U.S. copyright law generally grants copyright owners the exclusive right to, among other things, reproduce, distribute, display, perform publicly, and create derivative works from their copyrighted works under 17 U.S.C. Sn. 106. Violation of these exclusive rights constitutes copyright infringement under 17 U.S.C. Sn. 501.

Spotify thus appears to be engaged in direct infringement by hosting unlicensed musical works in its lyrics, videos, and podcasts, and by distributing unauthorized reproductions, synchronizations, displays, and derivative uses of these musical works to its users. Making matters worse, Spotify profits from such infringement.

Accordingly, on behalf of our members, NMPA demands that unlicensed lyrics, music videos, and podcasts be removed from the platform or Spotify will face copyright liability for continued use of these works.

De reactie van Spotify is dat dit allemaal onzin is:

This letter is a press stunt filled with false and misleading claims. It’s an attempt to deflect from the Phono IV deal that the NMPA agreed to and celebrated back in 2022. We paid a record amount to benefit songwriters in 2023, and we are on track to exceed this amount [globally] in 2024. Spotify is a platform for licensed content. We are committed to the integrity of our platform, and we have a clear process in place for rightsholders to contact Spotify about any content they believe is unlicensed.

#Spotify

Apple heeft al eerder een brief van de NMPA gehad.