Deezer's 26m track purge, TikTok's manipulated audio, and Skibidi Toilet trend driven by Timbaland track. Insights on music curation, AI in music creation, and challenges faced by artists and platforms.
Deezer's removal of 26 million tracks raised debates on content curation and quality in the music industry.
TikTok's struggles with manipulated audio underscored challenges in licensing, policing, and fair artist compensation.
Deep dives
Deezer's Culling of Tracks and Value in Music
Deezer's decision to cull 26 million tracks raised discussions about treating all content equally in the music industry. The culling highlighted the challenge of curating and disseminating hit music effectively across diverse genres and audiences. This move sparked debates around high-quality content, fake artists, and the necessity for platforms to offer a curated product offering, especially to cater to a larger audience.
TikTok's Issue with Manipulated Audio and Licensing
Universal Music Group's refusal to continue licensing with TikTok led to a significant number of takedown requests for manipulated audio content. TikTok users manipulating original songs and uploading them raised questions about the platform's technology to prevent such occurrences. The situation highlighted the complexities of licensing, policing manipulated tracks, and the obligations of platforms to ensure fair compensation for artists.
Impact of Manipulated Audio on Streaming Platforms
The prevalence of manipulated audio on social platforms like TikTok and Spotify raised concerns about artist recognition and fair compensation. Spotify's handling of sped up tracks playlist improved artist crediting and ensured proper royalty payments. The data from PEX indicating a high percentage of manipulated audio on TikTok underscored the need for platforms to address these issues effectively to protect artist rights and ensure fair compensation.
On this episode of Music Business Worldwide's Talking Trends (supported by Voly Entertainment): MBW founder, Tim Ingham, is joined by Los Angeles-based music biz seer, Charlie D'Atri, to discuss two recent headlines from the world of entertainment:
(1) Deezer's decision to remove 26 million music tracks from its library of content; and (2) The amount of 'manipulated audio' that continues to thrive on TikTok today - even when it's a Universal Music Group recording being 'manipulated'. (Also discussed Skibidi Toilet – a cultural phenomenon driven by a 'manipulated' Timbaland track.)
People and companies mentioned on this Talking Trends podcast include: Deezer, Bob Roback, Ingrooves, Epidemic Sound, Calm, Amazon, Windham Hill Records, Universal Music Group, Endel, Oleg Stavinksy, Pex, TikTok, JP Morgan, YouTube, Rasty Turek, Neil Young, and more.
Music Business Worldwide's Podcasts are supported by Voly Entertainment (previously known as Voly Music).
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