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Business News Digital Labels & Publishers
Spotify launches a Songwriters Hub
By Chris Cooke | Published on Friday 18 December 2020
Spotify yesterday launched a new Songwriters Hub that brings together playlists, podcasts and other gubbins that is songwriter-centric. I wonder if they’ll include that edition of Setlist where we explained why songwriters in America are so pissed off with Spotify? Probably not.
The Songwriters Hub is part of Spotify’s ongoing efforts to placate the songwriter community and to make it easier to navigate the streaming service’s vast catalogue of music based on who wrote the songs. Earlier this year, Spotify also started added specific pages for more prolific songwriters, and another stack of those are set to go live, again encouraging users to navigate music by writer.
I wonder if they’ll include that edition of Setlist where we talk about Eminem’s publishing company Eight Mile Style suing Spotify for the shoddy payment of song royalties in the US? Probably not.
Confirming the launch of the Songwriter Hub, Spotify’s Head Of Songwriter And Publishing Relations, Jules Parker, said: “With the launch of the Songwriters Hub, we’re continuing to evolve how music is discovered, appreciated and enjoyed by the world”.
“Supporting publishers and songwriters goes hand in hand with artist discovery”, he added. “People know who an artist is. They don’t know who the writers are, necessarily. If we can help make those connections, we help people discover new music and open up potential career opportunities for the songwriter. It all ties back to our mission of helping creators live off their work”.
I wonder if they’ll include that edition of Setlist where we talked about the streaming select committee hearing where a bunch of creators talked about how it’s so hard for them to live off their work in the streaming age. Probably not.
Prominent on the Songwriters Hub page at launch is a playlist curating songs written or co-written by songwriter Nija, who added: “Having a hub for songwriters is extremely important because people need to know who these people are who are helping create the soundtrack to our lives”.
“Songwriters deserve to be praised for their contributions just as much as artists and producers”, she went on. “A lot of times we get the short end of the stick, so I’m glad that there’s a place where people can see who’s writing their favourite songs. Personally, I’m so thankful that I was chosen to be the first featured writer of the hub. It makes me feel appreciated and that makes me want to work harder”.
I wonder if they’ll include that edition of Setlist where we explained how the shoddy payment of song royalties in the US was really the fault of the music industry’s shitty licensing systems and not Spotify? Maybe they will.
Though that’s kind of old now and a bit out of date. I know, I wonder if they’ll include the more recent Setlist specials on ‘the things people get wrong about streaming’. I mean, those pretty much present all sides of the digital dollar debate. So everyone gets dissed a bit. Yeah, probably not.
Oh well. Podcasts-wise the Songwriter Hub currently leads with ‘And The Writer Is’ and ‘Song Exploder’. And they’re both great. Listen to them. Oh, and some music. You should probably listen to some of these songwriters’ songs too. I think that’s probably the point.
You can check out the Songwriters Hub here.
