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A comment on Spotify shuts down direct music uploading for independent artists. Parent comment

Re:Spotify shuts down direct music uploading for independent... by dmitriid on Wednesday July 03, 2019 @07:12AM (#20343239)
These companies are not against independent artists. The big rights holders are.

Allowing artists to upload directly is a legal clusterfuck of minefields and business risks (pardon the language):

- what happens when an artist who is signed with Warner Music starts uploading their music directly?

- what happens when the Big Three start viewing Spotify (or Google, or anyone, really) as their competitor in music distribution?

Somehow almost literally no one focuses on how Warner, Sony, and Universal have a death grip on both artists and distribution companies. But everyone is willing to vilify Spotify.

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Re:Spotify shuts down direct music uploading for independent... by lukeh on Wednesday July 03, 2019 @09:18AM (#20344017)
If you did the first thing, you’d be stupid, and in breach of your contract, just as if you shared it elsewhere. And it’d get taken down pretty quickly, algorithmically or not.
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Re:Spotify shuts down direct music uploading for independent... by dmitriid on Wednesday July 03, 2019 @04:32PM (#20348455)
Ah, herein lies the devil in the details. The contracts may or may not specify worldwide distribution rights, may concern distribution rights in some countries only, may or may not leave leeway for the artist to distribute their own stuff etc. etc. etc.

It's a legal minefield, and the big three love it.

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Re:Spotify shuts down direct music uploading for independent... by lukeh on Wednesday July 03, 2019 @04:41PM (#20348548)
The contracts are long but clear (I’m on Universal).
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Re:Spotify shuts down direct music uploading for independent... by dmitriid on Thursday July 04, 2019 @12:24PM (#20355818)
Yet somehow music distribution ends up being controlled by different companies in different countries for quite a lot of music. Especially for older music.
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