Spotify drops Victory Records artists over royalty dispute

Music from Victory Records—home to Taking Back Sunday, Thursday, and other bands not named for days of the week—has been dropped from Spotify. The label claims this is the result of a dispute over royalties, as it seems instead of barely paying the artists, the streaming service isn’t paying the artists at all. Rolling Stone quotes a label statement saying, “Victory Records’ catalog was pulled … as a result of Spotify not properly paying publishing revenues … in blatant violation of US Copyright laws.” It seems a bit more complicated than that, however, as Spotify offered a remedy, but it was a contract that would have violated a previous agreement the label had with digital rights service Audiam. Victory’s artists are hardly the first to part ways with Spotify, but the service doesn’t seem to be hurting as a result. Overall streaming revenue outpaced revenue from CD sales for the first time this year, possibly because so little of that revenue goes to the artists.

 
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