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While Some Cry ‘Fake,’ Spotify Sees No Need to Apologize

Discussion in 'Article Discussion' started by Melody Bot, Jul 17, 2017.

  1. Melody Bot Jul 17, 2017
    Melody Bot

    Your friendly little forum bot. Staff Member

    This article has been imported from chorus.fm for discussion. All of the forum rules still apply.

    The New York Times:


    For the last week, the music industry has been buzzing over the accusation that Spotify’s playlists are dotted with hundreds of supposedly “fake” artists, with names like Amity Cadet and Lo Mimieux, who are racking up tens of millions of streams yet have no public profile — no Facebook page, no Twitter feed, not even a face.
    ​

    And:


    Peter Sandberg, a 27-year-old composer in Sweden who has created a number of tracks on these playlists, called the term unfair.

    “I’m a composer trying to find a way to grow and spread my work,” Mr. Sandberg wrote in an email relayed through an intermediary, “and to be called fake is not something I appreciate.” (Mr. Sandberg, who records music under his own name as well, does have a social media presence, making him a less anonymous figure than many of the other creators of this music.)
    ​

    This entire story is strange, but when companies like Spotify can get computers to produce hits for their playlists with minimal human involvement, that’s when it gets really weird.

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  2. Piercalicious Jul 17, 2017
    (Last edited: Jul 17, 2017)
    Piercalicious

    Regular

    This issue of "fake" artists getting prepayment in a lump sum payment in lieu of receiving songwriting credit and royalties pre-dates streaming music and is actually the practice of a lot of well established artists themselves.

    There are so many songs out there by big name artists that have had way more songwriters involved in their creation than are credited on the song's ASCAP/BMI page. The artist contracts with the actual songwriter under work-for-hire terms for a lump sum payment, all accompanied by a non-disclosure agreement. The artist then gets to assume complete ownership of the composition and can list themselves as the sole songwriter on all of their publishing documents (and receive the associated royalties). And because the actual original songwriter is under NDA and has assigned away all legal claim to the song itself, the artist's fans never know the artist didn't actually write that song.
     
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