El-P Calls Out Spotify For Not Protecting Artists Against Fraud
Run The Jewels rapper and producer El-P is calling out Spotify for what he alleges to be a lack of protection against fraud on the platform. The musician recently took to Twitter to respond to a fan who noticed that music from another artist had been included on the El-P artist page.
“No matter how many times I pay my lawyer to take them down, Spotify just doesn’t care enough to not let other people upload songs to my page or my albums, that I own to theirs,” he writes. “What I mean is I regularly have to send take down notices not only for people using my name for their music and it appearing on my artist page but for people uploading my albums to their page and assumedly having my money diverted to them until we catch it,” he notes in another followup tweet.
The musician also pointed out that even after getting “payed a pittance” on Spotify, he also has to cover legal fees just to monitor what gets sold in his name through their service. “For those that don’t know, the rules Spotify have set forth are as follows: if someone uploads music in your name to your page or your music to theirs fraudulently your only recourse is to issue a takedown by a lawyer,” he writes. “Spotify doesn’t help. This happens to me almost monthly.”
In the same series of tweets, he later pointed out that he doesn’t have the same issue with Apple Music. “Apple has a relationship with the owners of the music and a more secure process on how to deliver your content,” he writes. “Sometimes stuff slips through the cracks, but it’s nothing like Spotify.” See his remarks below.
cool yeah see no matter how many times i pay my lawyer to take them down, @spotify just doesn’t care enough to not let other people upload songs to my page or my albums that i own to theirs. that’s the type of personal touch they’ve brought to the industry. $250 every time 👍 https://t.co/3NLxKemb6Z
— el-p (@therealelp) October 19, 2018
so not only do we get payed a pittance on @Spotify but we actually have to pay hundreds a month simply to regulate what gets sold in our name. i’m tired of being nice about it the world is descending in to fascism ill be damned if i care about ruffling feathers at spotify.
— el-p (@therealelp) October 19, 2018
and despite all my money spent simply correcting the fact that @spotify lets people upload music in my name that aren’t me and that i regularly have to find and take down my own intellectual property from other peoples pages, i’m expected to pay monthly for the service 😂
— el-p (@therealelp) October 19, 2018
for those that don’t know, the rules spotify have set forth are as follows: if someone uploads music in your name to your page or your music to theirs fraudulently your only recourse is to issue a take down by a lawyer. spotify doesnt help. this happens to me almost monthly.
— el-p (@therealelp) October 19, 2018
correct. no one representing or protecting the people who actually create the product they rely on to even have a business. https://t.co/lCc4QXsver
— el-p (@therealelp) October 19, 2018
this is all i’m asking for. https://t.co/UzYVB14k4A
— el-p (@therealelp) October 19, 2018
i’m not saying don’t use spotify to hear my music. it’s a great app for listeners. i put it up there for that reason. the issue i have is not that. it’s that i find it infuriating that we regularly have to pay money to correct something that we shouldn’t have to. https://t.co/wPhXGn4A7V
— el-p (@therealelp) October 19, 2018
yeah unfortunately this is the conclusion i’ve been forced to come to as well. https://t.co/NIWYKZH67h
— el-p (@therealelp) October 19, 2018
This article originally appeared on Spin.