Copyright Infringement and the disco:wax record label
So for the very first time I got a mix pulled from soundcloud over copyright Infringement, Usually I would just scuff this off as a loss and move on to the next one but I felt this situation was odd.
I was actually sent an email From the artist Ookay’s marketing team asking for folks to listen to a new song of his with Showtek and it asked folks to purchase the track and play it in sets, After listening to the song I went ahead and purchased it off of beatport and played it in a set that was uploaded around 5 months ago.
After receiving the takedown notice I went ahead and made a post on disco:wax’s facebook page letting them know I was upset my mix was taken down after doing EXACTLY what was asked of my by the artist. to my surprise they actually responded. I thought AWESOME even though I lost the mix the fact they are reaching out makes up for it… but I was wrong what I received was a quip back
This actually blew my mind, you ask me to promote a track and then tell me not to record or show anyone the mix afterwords. so that was the end of it I thought, I made a post on my personal Facebook saying I was disappointed in what I thought was a progressive label (keep in mind I am not some even remotely popular dj, I mix because I enjoy it and I have less than 100 followers on soundcloud and 600 friends on my personal Facebook) , Now they are Hoping onto my Facebook and commenting on my posts
Now I work as a consultant for a marketing company, I understand how copyrights works and that the takedown was 100% in their rights what I was upset about is the fact they asked me to use a Track and than delete my work once I have completed it.
Does anyone else think this is an absolutely crazy interaction? I would never imagine another company doing this and the fact that they are now going out of their way to look for my stuff online and comment on it blows me away.
Let me know what you guys think, Am I in the wrong here for voicing my opinion on Facebook?
To be honest mate I get a lot of such requests - especially from promo companies that send me music.
In fact some send weekly updates of which tracks they would like pushing that weekend. That’s what their job is.
Requesting that you purchase the track does not imply that they condone the use of it in copyright infringing ways.
It is debatable that these companies would ever encourage the use of theses tracks in Soundcloud mixes. That is NOT the reason they send the music out to DJ’s. They send it out to be played at our gigs.
Yes, you are right they expect us to promote and play the music but they do not expect that music to be shared.
Soundcloud have made a shitty situation even more shitty but everyone knows the T&C’s and the rules - copyrighted music is not allowed - it’s as simple as that.
I know this may sound harsh and I in no way think Soundcloud pulling mixes is a good thing - I just think you have to accept it for what it is.
I completely understand why my mix was pulled, The real thing here is the way the label acted. I feel like it was very unprofessional. and then the following me onto Facebook to comment on my posts in the way they did blew me away.
Your original email request was from the artist or the artist’s marketing team. It was the label that was causing the stink. I think you have to differentiate. The label wasn’t asking you to promote the tune, the artist was. Artists and labels don’t always see eye to eye.
And honestly, if I was running a label and some dude had an online beef with my label, I might keep an eye on that person’s personal facebook account as well, to make sure there were no negative/untrue statements about the label. Let’s be honest, the Internet is great for individuals. When it comes to companies being bad-mouthed though, it sucks for the company. And music labels are in a very competitive environment.
Sucks you had to go through that. You were merely doing what the artist asked you to do.
That really does suck, I’d keep an eye out for releases and make sure that your mix isnt used and if it is used you know what to do cha ching cha ching.
Welcome to copyright laws and the Internet… Years ago there was a producer that released most his tracks on a dedicated private direct connect Hub and when he got signed the record label told him if you want these tracks released he will need all his shared copies pulled from file sharing I think they maybe never got a release but his others did
Bottom line, soundcloud is intended for distribution and promotion of original tracks and remixes, not full length DJ sets featuring copyrighted material in high quality - thats what mixcloud is for.
Sorry to say I side with the label on this one, playing a track in a live set or on a radio show is one thing. Including the track to stream or download included in a HQ mixset would potentially take away from any sales by non-djs who might otherwise buy the track individually.
+100, artists generally want their track played everywhere and become an overnight household name and almost always liberally give away promos and request everyone to play their tracks. Labels however are in the industry for money and need to protect their product and investment which often means needing clipping the artists and their managements’ wings.
Stop supporting their label in your mixes. I have send emails to several labels saying stating that due to our mixes being pinged (Soundcloud) that we will no longer use their tracks. Our page get 1500-2000 plays a week so its no skin off my nose. 95+% of our mixes go up with no issues however.
Yes, this is well known that Soundcloud takes down mixes for copyright infringement. I have had multiple mixes taken down. Fighting against the record label is pointless. Take your argument up with Soundcloud and do like the rest of us and don’t post mixes to Soundcloud anymore.
The label has every right to defend their brand when they have done nothing wrong and besides it’s facebook…
Just to reiterate, I understand copyright what I was upset about what the way they handled the situation. It started with a simple can I post your music on soundcloud or no and devolved into insults from their facebook. I work for a marketing company and if one of my clients acted like this on their facebook or other social media we would probably drop them as a client. But yes i do understand that they are in the right to take down the mix and that I was a little rude to start but I never expected nor intended for it to go the way it did.
