The whole Zee Music Company catalogue of Bollywood songs has been removed off the music app Spotify.
The music app withdrew Zee Music Company’s entire catalogue after negotiations to renew their licencing agreement fell apart last week. Bollywood music enthusiasts have expressed their displeasure with the move, with some threatening to cancel their app memberships.
According to Billboard, the music app claimed in a statement that “Spotify and Zee Music have been unable to achieve a licencing deal.” Throughout these negotiations, Spotify has made an attempt to come up with novel ideas to reach an agreement with Zee Music, and we will continue to negotiate in good faith in the expectation of speedily reaching a mutually satisfying settlement.
The music app makes it plain on its website that it cannot provide users with access to all of the world’s music and podcasts. It, like Netflix, negotiates licence deals with publishers and rights holders so that their music recordings can be played online.
Makhna from Drive (2019), Zaalima from Raees (2017), and Maiyya Mainu from Jersey (2022) were all removed. The soundtracks for the period drama Kalank (2019), the award-winning Gully Boy (2019), and the romantic movie Veere Di Wedding were also removed (2018).
