Music publishers are asking Spotify to remove thousands of unlicensed songs from podcasts on its platform, a massive takedown request spanning work by megastars from Taylor Swift and Kendrick Lamar to Michael Jackson and Prince.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the National Music Publishers’ Association, a trade group, said Tuesday it sent notice of more than 2,500 instances of infringement to the streaming service, alleging that songs are being used without permission or compensation. Other artists with affected songs include Justin Bieber, Carrie Underwood, Linkin Park, Pearl Jam, Travis Scott and Ariana Grande.
“Music in podcasts should be a revenue source for songwriters and publishers,” said NMPA Chief Executive David Israelite. The fast-growing genre is ripe for clean up when it comes to its use of unlicensed music, he said.
The takedown requests follow a warning from the trade body this past May, when it sent a cease-and-desist letter to Spotify saying that the platform appeared to be engaged in infringement by hosting unlicensed musical works in lyrics, videos and podcasts.
Spotify said it reached out to NMPA at the time and asked for details, but didn’t receive any response. Many of the flagged podcasts appear to be shows that discuss or review music, the company said.
Spotify said it hosts millions of pieces of user-generated content and regularly receives takedown requests. “As always, we will act promptly and, where appropriate, remove the episodes in question,” a spokesman said.
The takedown effort includes 19 NMPA member publishers, including Sony Music Publishing, Warner Chappell Music and Universal Music Publishing Group
NMPA plans to send a new batch of takedowns each week until the issue is resolved.
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