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Spotify did not have a friendly environment, it was more passion that made it possible. I hope they can stand up against the giants like youtube, apple etc. I

Spotify did not have a friendly environment, it was more passion that made it possible. I hope they can stand up against the giants like youtube, apple etc. I have no love for Spotify but they were pretty revolutionary when they released mainly because they managed to go legit so early.

xlii 2y ago
I'm not saying they had it butter smooth (great projects rarely start in completely free-for-all environments). Main stopper was distribution of licenses. There were 100s of LLCs splitted into multi-level trees by ~30 big music groups keeping all the licenses and supervised by artists association. Every LLC kept 2-5 music distribution licenses without any discrimination, local musicians, foreign musicians. Licenses were in constant flux (it wasn't uncommon to 2 companies exchange licenses on weekly basis). A simple reason was income distribution for tax reasons and law sanctioned such procedures. Changes came no earlier than in 2012 when many digital services were already available. And I know that simple answer would be "just ignore the law", but that was also a time when BSA with Microsoft were doing raids with hardware seizure (many of which overturned in courts years after initial seizure). There's no equality of opportunities. That's it and nothing more.
- pastage 2y ago
  I think we agree on the broader picture, what you describe is just the easy bit. Getting licenses for anything copyrighted is hell at a large scale. I interpret your comment like it has gotten better in the music industry but I do not think Spotify (or the others) want that because that is a big moat they have crossed.
pclmulqdq 2y ago
Spotify launched in Sweden, initially, which is one of the most piracy-friendly business climates in the world, and also a very low-red-tape place to do business. American competitors existed and were ground into dust before getting off the ground due to all of the people with their hands out. Between ASCAP/BMI, the agents, the artists, and the record labels, the music business in the US has so many middlemen for the fact that it is such a small industry.
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]

xlii 2y ago

I'm not saying they had it butter smooth (great projects rarely start in completely free-for-all environments). Main stopper was distribution of licenses. There were 100s of LLCs splitted into multi-level trees by ~30 big music groups keeping all the licenses and supervised by artists association. Every LLC kept 2-5 music distribution licenses without any discrimination, local musicians, foreign musicians. Licenses were in constant flux (it wasn't uncommon to 2 companies exchange licenses on weekly basis). A simple reason was income distribution for tax reasons and law sanctioned such procedures. Changes came no earlier than in 2012 when many digital services were already available. And I know that simple answer would be "just ignore the law", but that was also a time when BSA with Microsoft were doing raids with hardware seizure (many of which overturned in courts years after initial seizure). There's no equality of opportunities. That's it and nothing more.

pastage 2y ago
I think we agree on the broader picture, what you describe is just the easy bit. Getting licenses for anything copyrighted is hell at a large scale. I interpret your comment like it has gotten better in the music industry but I do not think Spotify (or the others) want that because that is a big moat they have crossed.

pclmulqdq 2y ago

Spotify launched in Sweden, initially, which is one of the most piracy-friendly business climates in the world, and also a very low-red-tape place to do business. American competitors existed and were ground into dust before getting off the ground due to all of the people with their hands out. Between ASCAP/BMI, the agents, the artists, and the record labels, the music business in the US has so many middlemen for the fact that it is such a small industry.

deleted 2y ago
[deleted]