Spotify news

CMU Digest: YouTube’s voice-cloning announcements, Stability AI audio chief resigns over the company’s fair use position + more

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CMU Digest • 5 min read

CMU Digest: YouTube’s voice-cloning announcements, Stability AI audio chief resigns over the company’s fair use position + more

In this week's digest: YouTube launches a new voice cloning tool; Stability AI’s audio chief resigns over its insistence that training AI is ‘fair use’; Spotify’s new anti-fraud fines are criticised + more…

Chris Cooke • 18 Nov 2023

Distrokid boss critical of Spotify plan to fine distributors over tracks with heavy stream manipulation

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Spotify • 2 min read

Distrokid boss critical of Spotify plan to fine distributors over tracks with heavy stream manipulation

Spotify will start issuing fines to labels and distributors that deliver tracks that are subject to heavy stream manipulation - a move that has been criticised by at least one DIY distributor…

Chris Cooke • 16 Nov 2023

TikTok launches feature to save song straight to streaming apps

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TikTok • 1 min read

TikTok launches feature to save song straight to streaming apps

TikTok has launched a new feature called Add To Music App, which saves tracks heard on the video-sharing platform straight to a user’s streaming app of choice. So long as that app is Spotify or Amazon Music, currently…

Andy Malt • 15 Nov 2023

Setlist Podcast: Competition law concerns over Spotify’s royalty plans

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Spotify • 3 min read

Setlist Podcast: Competition law concerns over Spotify’s royalty plans

Competition law expert Amelia Fletcher's letter to Spotify boss Daniel Ek about the streaming services plan for a two-tier royalty system, and the rickrolling takedown battle between two stream-ripping platforms…

Andy Malt & Chris Cooke • 10 Nov 2023

Spotify brings audiobook listening to US Premium accounts

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Spotify • 1 min read

Spotify brings audiobook listening to US Premium accounts

Spotify is bringing audiobook listening to premium accounts in the US. Lucky Americans. They join users in the UK and Australia, who had the fifteen hours of audiobook access dumped on them last month…

Andy Malt • 09 Nov 2023

Spotify two-tier payment "discriminatory and exploitative" says competition law expert

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Spotify • 4 min read

Spotify two-tier payment "discriminatory and exploitative" says competition law expert

Competition law expert Amelia Fletcher has written to Spotify boss Daniel Ek expressing concern about the plan to introduce a threshold below which tracks will not receive any royalties when they are streamed…

Chris Cooke • 06 Nov 2023

Competition law expert Amelia Fletcher writes to Daniel Ek

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Spotify • 4 min read

Competition law expert Amelia Fletcher writes to Daniel Ek

The following letter has been sent to Spotify CEO Daniel Ek by Amelia Fletcher, who is Professor of Competition Policy at Norwich Business School at the University of East Anglia. She is also a musician and songwriter, and co-founder of independent label Skep Wax Records.…

CMU Editorial • 06 Nov 2023

Setlist Podcast: Spotify plots changes to the way it pays out royalties

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Spotify • 2 min read

Setlist Podcast: Spotify plots changes to the way it pays out royalties

Spotify's plans to change the way it allocates revenues to individual tracks and catalogues each month, and the confirmation that digital is now the biggest driver of revenue for the song rights collecting societies…

Andy Malt & Chris Cooke • 27 Oct 2023

Spotify also in talks with industry to change track allocation process

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Spotify • 3 min read

Spotify also in talks with industry to change track allocation process

Spotify is in talks with the labels and distributors about changing the way it allocates revenues to tracks each month - like with changes proposed by Deezer, Spotify’s plan will impact functional audio and smaller self-releasing musicians…

Chris Cooke • 25 Oct 2023

Spotify boss urges UK government to not water down its Apple regulating Digital Markets Act

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Spotify • 3 min read

Spotify boss urges UK government to not water down its Apple regulating Digital Markets Act

Spotify CEO Daniel Ek continues in his global campaign to force a change to Apple’s rules on in-app payments, this time urging the UK government to not water down proposed new laws for regulating the tech giants…

Chris Cooke • 23 Oct 2023

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Spotify • 2 min read

Spotify adds new Merch Hub to its app

Spotify has added a Merch Hub to its app which will recommend merchandise based on the music each user has listened to…

Chris Cooke • 17 Oct 2023

Authors criticise lack of transparency around Spotify's new audiobook offer

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Spotify • 2 min read

Authors criticise lack of transparency around Spotify's new audiobook offer

The UK’s Society Of Authors has criticised the lack of transparency about the deals Spotify has negotiated with book publishers in order to include access to audiobooks as part of its premium subscription package…

Chris Cooke • 12 Oct 2023