The music app Spotify has removed the entire catalog of Bollywood songs from Zee Music Company.
The music app was forced to remove the entire catalog from Zee Music Company after negotiations for a renewal of their licensing agreement failed to go through last week. Users of Bollywood music have shown disappointment over the move and some have even threatened to cancel their subscriptions to the app.
According to a report on Billboard, the music app said in a statement, “Spotify and Zee Music have been unable to reach a licensing agreement. Throughout these negotiations, Spotify has tried to find creative ways to strike a deal with Zee Music and will continue our good faith negotiations in hopes of finding a mutually agreeable solution soon.”
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The music app has a disclaimer on its website that it doesn’t provide access to all the music and podcasts in the world. Like the streaming platform Netflix, it negotiates to license deals with publishers and rights owners so their music tracks can be played online.
Songs like Maiyya Mainu from Jersey (2022), Makhna from Drive (2019) and Zaalima from Raees (2017) have all been removed. Soundtracks of the rom-com Veere Di Wedding (2018), the award-winning Gully Boy (2019) and the period drama Kalank (2019) have also been taken down.
