December 16, 2016

“Oops, We Take That Back”: SoundCloud Mixes Could Still be Taken Down

Mere days after DJs around the world rejoiced, SoundCloud clarified its stance and specified that mixes could still be taken down at the request of track’s original creators.

Originally the statements by SoundCloud’s Founder, Eric Wahlforss, seemed to indicate that the music streaming and hosting platform would no longer hit DJs with copyright infringement for mixes that feature other’s music (as most DJ sets and recorded mixes do). Now, a blog post from SoundCloud has gone on record with more detailed information on how it will behave on matters concerning this:

“There have been a number of incoming questions this week from our community around creativity and content on SoundCloud. Today, through a number of agreements with labels, publishers and other partners, there are far fewer takedowns of various forms of content – including DJ sets – shared on SoundCloud. It’s clear from our conversations and agreements with the industry and creative community as a whole, that enabling a place for all forms of creativity to live is important, and that SoundCloud can be that place.

With that, it’s important to note takedowns are at the request of creators. While the agreements we have in place across the industry have greatly lessened the likelihood of takedowns, as a creator driven platform, we respect all creators, and therefore we respect the rights of all creators who request to have their content removed.

As always, SoundCloud’s aim is to continue building a unique ecosystem where all forms of expression can live and thrive. The community of creators who gather, share their work and collaborate on SoundCloud is hugely important to us. Creators on SoundCloud continue to be a driving force in pushing culture forward in the world, and we are honored to be the place to help amplify the millions of creative voices who call SoundCloud home.”

Essentially, what SoundCloud has done is reduce the number of takedowns resulting from record labels and publisher agreements, but will have to listen to track creators should they lodge a request for content to be removed.

H/T: Pitchfork