Spotify has just been attacked with a couple of lawsuits accusing the streaming service of copyright infringement using a method known in legal circles as "staggering." Spotify is no stranger to issues with copyright payments and licensing issues, and while the company has taken steps to improve in those areas, these lawsuits demonstrate nothing but the long way to go. company in this area.
As noted, the first lawsuit comes from Bob Gaudio, founding member of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. The composer alleges that several of his greatest hits are being offered through Spotify despite the fact that there is no license agreement that allows this to occur legally.
The second lawsuit was imposed by Bluewater Music Services Corporation, which manages the publishing rights of dozens of prominent composers, including Guns' N Roses, Player or Miranda Lambert. All in all, the two lawsuits involve several thousand songs and compositions. Bluewater expects a hefty penalty against Spotify, otherwise it fears the case could further fuel the infringement:
“Any tax less than the maximum of $ 150.000 for legal damages for each of the works involved in the lawsuit for which the rights have been infringed would encourage the continued infringement. The amount would be taken as a slap on the wrist and compensate for the fact that it is a multi-million dollar company, about to go public, that would rule the streaming market through a pattern of willful infringement on a staggering scale. "
The information published by Hollywood Reporter offers some light on Spotify's struggles with licensing, as well as the evolution of the licensing process throughout the history of the music industry. While Spotify has agreements with record labels and other entities such as ASCAP, the issues that generate controversy often relate to song compositions owned by the publishers and songwriters.
Spotify works with the Harry Fox Agency, which represents the major publishers to administer Section 115 of compulsory licenses. However, this agency is not very diligent when it comes to reviewing what happens with compositions that are not in its scope of action and does not look at whether it is acting correctly or copyright is being infringed. In comments to the United States Copyright Office and in other statements made in different media, Spotify has acknowledged that the identification and location of co-authors of each of the tens of millions of copyrighted musical works through its streaming platform is a daunting task.
In an effort to resolve some of its licensing issues, Spotify earlier this year acquired Mediachain, which had developed a secure Bitcoin-style database to manage proprietary information for internet media companies. In addition, the company has acquired several artificial intelligence companies with which it intends to develop various systems with which it can control a huge multimedia database in continuous growth.
While the results of these lawsuits remain to be seen, it is clear that Spotify has yet to resolve its copyright issues. These legal clashes have haunted Spotify since its inception and have been a lot of work that the company's lawyers have dealt with Regarding copyright disputes by Spotify. Changing the model in which humanity listens to music also has these things against it. This will not be the last lawsuit they face.
