Several large content creators have been claiming Spotify’s new terms of service allows them to resell your music without compensation, use it to train AI and more – but is that true?
The short answer is no. While Spotify did update their terms of service for users, this agreement does not apply to music uploaded on the platform. They also haven’t updated their Spotify for Artists terms of service since 2021.
Let’s look at what these content creators are saying, what the terms of service say and why these creators are wrong.
Context
Several content creators on Instagram, TikTok and. YouTube posted some viral videos claiming Spotify’s new terms of service was doing evil things to music artists. Everything from it allowing Spotify to train AI with artist’s music to allowing them to re-sell derivative works of their music without compensation – it looked very bad.
The problem is these creators didn’t read the situation correctly, and as a result spread misinformation to tens of thousands of artists (possibly hundreds of thousands). Everyone loves rage bait, and artists were raging.
Here’s what happened…
On August 26th Spotify updated their user terms of service which you can find here.
User Content
You retain ownership of your User Content when you post it to the Spotify Service. However, in order for us to make your User Content available on the Spotify Service and to provide you with certain features and functions, we do need a limited license from you to that User Content. Accordingly, you hereby grant to Spotify a non-exclusive, transferable, sublicensable, royalty-free, fully paid, irrevocable, worldwide license to reproduce, make available, perform and display, translate, modify, create derivative works from, distribute, and otherwise use any such User Content through any medium, whether alone or in combination with other Content or materials, in any manner and by any means, method or technology, whether now known or hereafter created, in connection with the Spotify Service. Where applicable and to the extent permitted under applicable law, you also agree to waive, and not to enforce, any "moral rights" or equivalent rights, such as your right to be identified as the author of any User Content, including Feedback, and your right to object to derogatory treatment of such User Content.
Sounds scary, right? Well this section has been nearly identical since 2015. Take a look for yourself:
You grant Spotify a non-exclusive, transferable, sub-licensable, royalty-free, perpetual (or, in jurisdictions where this is not permitted, for a term equal to the duration of the Agreements plus twenty (20) years), irrevocable, fully paid, worldwide licence to use, reproduce, make available to the public (e.g. perform or display), publish, translate, modify, create derivative works from, and distribute any of your User Content in connection with the Service through any medium, whether alone or in combination with other content or materials, in any manner and by any means, method or technology, whether now known or hereafter created. Aside from the rights specifically granted herein, you retain ownership of all rights, including intellectual property rights, in the User Content. Where applicable and permitted under applicable law, you also agree to waive any “moral rights” (or the equivalent under applicable law) such as your right to be identified as the author of any User Content, including Feedback, and your right to object to derogatory treatment of such User Content.
The more important thing is that both of these agreements are actually for USERS of Spotify, and apply to content uploaded by users. In other words it doesn’t apply to music uploaded.
The easiest way to think about this is: do you upload music to Spotify?
No, you don’t. You uploaded music to a distributor who then uploads it to Spotify for you. Your agreement for your music is with your distributor. In other words this terms of service is really for profile pictures, playlist artwork etc.
Spotify for Artists has a similar agreement as well, which applies to artist images, Canvas videos, Clip videos etc. But it still does not apply to music uploaded to the platform. And it has not been updated since 2021.
Disney+ Example
Fortunately Top Music Attorney did jump in to add some context to this whole mess. Essentially this interpretation is correct, that these agreements are in place for content directly uploaded to Spotify and Spotify for Artists.
However there is a big caveat that is worth bringing up, and that is Disney+.
Years ago Disney ran into some hot water when someone died on their property. A man died eating at a restaurant and his wife was suing for his wrongful death. Disney was able to argue that because the man agreed to the Disney+ (yes, the streaming service) terms of service, that those rules technically applied to his stay at the resort.
Meaning, they could move the lawsuit to arbitration due to the Disney+ agreement the man agreed to.
That being said, Disney backed off on this and did not pursue this angle. It also wouldn’t have ended the lawsuit, just taken it into arbitration.
I bring this up to say there are workarounds for Spotify to play dirty, but it’s worth noting that it doesn’t mean they would win those situations.
