“Typically,” says Liebenson, “the takedown right applies when a label has lost its rights to a recording, if it is subject to a third party claim, or if the label has a bona fide issue with the artist or there is some artist sensitivity.” The issues often tend to be purely contractual, but sometimes, as in this case, can be more philosophical. This right is subject to negotiation, so the devil is in the details of the contract about what can be taken down.” Warner Music Group has an agreement with Spotify under which it licenses the rights to its catalog of sound recordings, including Neil Young. Warner Music Group would have the right to require Spotify to take down certain recordings. Says Liebenson, “Neil Young is signed to the Warner Records label, which is part of Warner Music Group. But in this case, clearly, it made sense to quickly accede. Without knowing exactly how the contracts read, it would be difficult to know just how much leeway Spotify would have for resisting a takedown request. Jeff Liebenson of Liebenson Law, who serves as president of the International Association of Entertainment Lawyers, laid out for Variety exactly how these scenarios play out under the existing licenses the labels have with DSPs like Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music and Tidal. But does that mean that any label can ask any DSP to take down any artist’s work on a whim, or without a very solid explanation? No.
(She eventually was satisfied enough with Spotify’s terms to put that and all her future albums back on the service.) Even as big an artist as Swift wouldn’t have been able to make that ask without her future archenemy, the Big Machine label, backing her at the time. Still, there are examples of other artists who’ve done what Young has, obviously for different reasons, pre-Rogan - most notably when Taylor Swift had “1989” withheld from the service. And not many artists may have the 500-pound-gorilla status to convince their record companies to forego the surest source of recorded-music income going into the future. So as the question arises of which artists might want to follow Young’s lead and ask to have their music removed, too, in light of Spotify continuing to be the home base for Joe Rogan’s campaign to provide COVID misinformation, there’s not much they can do it about unless the heads of the labels they’re signed to agree to take it to the mat with the DSP.
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