NMPA Takes Action Against Spotify For Unlicensed Music In Podcasts

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The National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA) has launched a takedown campaign against Spotify for allegedly hosting unlicensed music in podcasts. Over 2,500 instances of infringement have been identified, with more to follow, according to the organization.

This move follows a May 2023 cease-and-desist letter NMPA sent to Spotify regarding the issue.

NMPA President & CEO David Israelite says, “Spotify has thousands of unlicensed songs in its podcasts, which it has done nothing to remedy. This takedown action comes as no surprise, we have warned of this issue for some time.

“Podcasts are a growing source of revenue for songwriters and publishers, and it is essential that podcasts provide lawfully produced entertainment. This is not hard to do, and Spotify knows, and has known, how to fix this problem for their users. We hope podcast hosts will stand up for their fellow creators and demand that Spotify do better.

“Spotify will stop at nothing to undervalue songwriters on behalf of its bottom line. Look no further than its recent bundling scheme and its ill-conceived appeal of songwriters’ rate increase in CRB III. We will not stop until the platform fixes its podcast problem, and all other areas where songwriters are not earning what they deserve.”

“The Nashville Songwriter Association International (NSAI) applauds The National Music Publisher Association’s (NMPA) take down action against Spotify for unlicensed music contained in podcasts on their platform,” shares Bart Herbison, NSAI Executive Director. “The giant streaming service’s continuing disregard to properly compensate songwriters and composers is again evident in their failure to license these songs. Spotify was warned of this situation nearly a year ago, yet failed to remedy it. To suggest that this action is in response to the recent decision in the MLC lawsuit dismisses the fact that they are illegally using music copyrights.”

The takedown program includes 19 NMPA member publishers including ABKCO, Anthem Entertainment, Big Machine Music, BMG, Concord Music Publishing, Downtown Music Publishing, Hipgnosis Songs Group, Kobalt, Mayimba Music, peermusic, Primary Wave Music, Reservoir, The Royalty Network, Inc., Sony Music Publishing, Spirit Music Group, Ultra Music Publishing, Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music and Wixen Music Publishing.

A Spotify Spokesperson shared the following statement with MusicRow, “This is a weak reaction to the judge dismissing the MLC’s lawsuit. Last summer, the NMPA claimed that there were unlicensed works in podcasts on Spotify. The fact that the NMPA waited months, despite multiple written requests by Spotify for details, which they never bothered to answer, to report these episodes only further emphasizes that this is a press stunt. Platforms like Spotify, which are home to millions of pieces of UGC content, regularly receive takedown requests, and, as always, we will act promptly and, where appropriate, remove the episodes in question.”

Spotify confirmed it had since received the list of URLs from the NMPA and is investigating the takedown requests; the initial hundred or so include shows from The New York Times, Slate and iHeart.

LB Cantrell
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