On Removing Releases from The Streamers

Enough is enough.

Distributor Features

Thanks to my distributor (DistroKid), I get a notification if my releases are removed from a streamer. Early notices sometimes turned out to be false alarms, but I still appreciate their intention.

More recently, I’ve started to receive notices about Spotify removals. Unfortunately, I haven’t found an easy way to check this since they continue to show me all of my releases. However, as with Deezer previously, other musicians have been able to confirm a couple of the removals. This is because these musicians have playlists that used to feature one of my songs that has now been removed.

(This was not the case with Apple Music. When my distributor misreported some removals, I was able to confirm on my own that those releases still were on those platforms.)

Streamers Anti-features

I find this unannounced and unexplained removal more than just disconcerting. It’s downright rude. But what else would I expect from a streamer who does everything in their power to avoid paying musicians?

Some of the streamers (notably Deezer and Spotify) claim to be cracking down on AI. While I know that AI releases are a concern, I also suspect that this is yet another excuse to avoid royalties.

My Response

I’ll be starting with targeted removals from the offending streamers. I’ll start with the underperforming albums. Basically, any release that has less than 100 plays in the past year, I’ll remove.

Don’t get me wrong about this: I’ll have to use the native “artist” tools/insights to check for the number of plays. And I don’t trust those numbers. However, I don’t have anything else to go on.

If you are listening to my music on Spotify or Deezer and prefer not to change streamers, please let me know. Drop a comment here or reach out to me on your favorite social network.