22nd March, Mumbai: Spotify was forced to remove the entire library of Bollywood songs from Zee Music Company after talks to renew their licencing agreement failed last week. Users and fans of Bollywood music have expressed their displeasure with the move on social media platforms such as Spotify and other platforms. Even the threat to cancel app subscriptions has been made by some.
Zee Music also cut ties with the music streaming service Gaana in 2022 by rejecting to renew their licencing agreement. A few months later, Gaana changed to only being available through subscription.
The music app stated in a statement that “Spotify and Zee Music have been unable to strike a licencing deal,” according to a report on Billboard. In these discussions, Spotify has made an attempt to develop novel strategies to come to an agreement with Zee Music, and they’ll “continue to negotiate in good faith in the expectation of speedily reaching a mutually agreeable resolution.”
The music app explicitly states on its website that it cannot provide customers with access to all of the world’s music and podcasts. Like the streaming service Netflix, it enters into licencing arrangements with publishers and rights holders so that their musical recordings can be played online.
Some well-known songs were taken off the app, including “Malhari” from Bajirao Mastani and the whole Kalank album. Users have taken to social media sites like Twitter to vent their frustration and fury as a result.
“@spotifyindia can’t you give us a week’s notice before abruptly removing bollywood music & wrecking our playlists because you couldn’t obtain rights,” wrote one user in a tweet. “Is it now expected of me to rely on Eminem to remember all of my favourite songs?” a user exclaimed. One user worried, “If Spotify keeps eliminating Bollywood tunes, how am I going to bring that ideal romantic touch to my life?”
In response, Spotify said it would work with Zee Music, the label that owns the tracks that were taken down, to come up with a workable solution. When the tracks will be reinstated in the app, though, is unknown.
For many people who had spent hours making playlists and downloading their favourite Bollywood tunes, this abrupt removal of tracks has caused inconvenience. In order to prevent similar circumstances in the future, better communication between music streaming services and the proprietors of the recordings is required.