Law on Reels -Review Of Netflix's 'The Playlist' And Spotify's Legal Conundrums
''You can't use old laws for new times'' said the lawyer in the new Netflix series called 'The Playlist' which depicts the rise of the now well-known music streaming service Spotify. It has 6 episodes which are titled 'The Coder', 'The Industry', 'The Vision', 'The Artist', 'The Partner' and, of course, 'The Law'. In doing so, the series ensures that everybody involved in the inception of...
''You can't use old laws for new times'' said the lawyer in the new Netflix series called 'The Playlist' which depicts the rise of the now well-known music streaming service Spotify. It has 6 episodes which are titled 'The Coder', 'The Industry', 'The Vision', 'The Artist', 'The Partner' and, of course, 'The Law'. In doing so, the series ensures that everybody involved in the inception of the company remains the hero of their own stories.
The lawyer, in the series, accredited with making not only the business model 'hybrid' but also attractive to the music companies like Sony, Universal etc., is Petra Hansson. Understandably, her episode is packed with negotiations, which had more to do with those sitting atop of rights whilst being protected by laws rather than changes in the law itself. Rightly so, because the battle for Spotify was half won when they received legal rights from the dinosaurs of the music industry. However, its crucial to note that it was the disregard for law which resulted in rampant piracy of music in the early 2000's that, in turn compelled the incumbent music companies to step into the digital market, making it conducive for Spotify's legal and free alternative to rise.
The series ends with portraying the future effects of the immense growth of Spotify which showed that the company had lived long enough to now see itself become the villain. The ending will still catch you by surprise though.
Spotify - The Lawsuit Magnet
Spotify has increasingly been embroiled in lawsuits alleging infringement of copyrighted material. When we look at the instances in the United States and India, a pattern of acting hastily emerges for the company.
In the U.S, Spotify and Eight Mile Style, LLC are at loggerheads as the company has been accused of reproducing "Lose Yourself" and about 250 songs of the rapper Eminem. Eight Mile's attorneys characterized the company's attitude as a 'stream first and ask permission later' approach to dealing with rights.
In India, Spotify invoked Section 31D of the Copyright Act against Warner/Chappell Music (WCM). The Section permits invoking a compulsory license through a unilateral notice and paying royalty rates which will be determined by the Intellectual Property Appellate Board separately for radio, T.V etc. However, prior to any such determination (as is prescribed in the Copyright Rules), Spotify as per their notice invoked the license a day after it was served. Spotify, on the other hand, had blamed Warner Music Group of attempting to leverage WCM's local Indian publishing rights in an attempt to gain leverage for negotiations.They have now reached an agreement for an undisclosed amount and the legal suit has been dismissed.
Spotify was also in legal battle with a music label called Saregama, which resulted in Spotify agreeing to remove all the work belonging to India's oldest music label within 10 days.
Regardless of the legal turmoil, Spotify is here to stay in India. Having just finished its 3rd year in the country with millions of users and getting the streaming rights from 'T-Series' for more than 160,000 songs. It is now, incumbent upon the Government to ensure that Spotify is given clarity and space to grow in the Indian market and the rights of artists are not infringed.
Views are personal.