Spotify removes Bollywood song catalog in licensing dispute
By Anna Cooban
Bollywood fans have been left without access to hundreds of their favorite tunes on Spotify because of a licensing dispute.
Spotify said it had removed the entire catalog of Zee Music — India’s second-biggest domestic music label with 93.7 million subscribers on YouTube — on March 14 after the companies were “unable to reach a licensing agreement.”
A Spotify spokesperson told CNN that the company had tried to find “creative ways to strike a deal with Zee Music,” and would continue to negotiate in good faith in the hope of finding “a mutually agreeable solution soon.”
Zee Music buys the rights to more than half of all newly-released Bollywood music, according to its LinkedIn page. The company did not respond to CNN’s request for comment.
Among the music taken down last week was “Apna Bana Le,” a song from the 2022 film Bhediya and, in the two weeks until last Tuesday, the most-streamed song on Spotify’s platform in India.
Fans have been expressing their frustration on Twitter. One user wrote Wednesday: “Give me my Bollywood music back!! that was my coping music!! give it BACK!!”
Another user wrote Tuesday: “Renew your contract with Spotify now!”
Devoted listeners can still stream Zee Music’s catalog on YouTube and Apple Music, where it offers hundreds of songs of various genres.
The-CNN-Wire
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