Streaming platforms such as Spotify, Apple Music, and TIDAL are hosting over one million “manipulated” tracks, according to new research by tech company Pex. The study revealed that many of these unlicensed tracks have been altered, such as being sped-up or slowed down. Songs like Lady Gaga’s ‘Bloody Mary’ and Childish Gambino’s ‘Heartbeat’ have reached millions of streams on the platforms and are committing music fraud and diverting royalties from rightsholders.
CEO of Pex, Rasty Turek, explains that at least 1% of all music has some form of modified audio and the existing systems are not catching up. Therefore, implying that it is likely that at least 1% of all music is misattributed and misappropriated, resulting in many artists not getting paid enough for their streams. Turek also emphasises that proper attribution should be required and that this is up to the platforms and services, instead of individual artists who may not have the means to monitor and remove manipulated tracks.
Last year, Spotify announced changes to its royalties structure, which could have implications for smaller artists who are set to receive lower royalties under the new system. The streaming giant plans to raise the threshold for royalty payments to 1000 plays per track and also “de-monetize tracks that had previously received 0.5% of Spotify’s royalty pool.” These changes could mean that small and independent artists receive significantly lesser monetary support from streaming platforms.
As per Pex’s research, it is likely that these manipulated tracks are diverting millions in royalties from rightsholders across the globe. Turek emphasises the need for proper attribution and the responsibility that lies with the platforms and services to fix the problem. He states that many people enjoy this genre of music and should have the means to access it, but not at the cost of any rightful copyright owners
Read the full article from Mixmag here: Read More