Where does music from departed labels come from?

[tanjimajuha20]

Back in December 2022, RBC discovered new songs by Western artists, released after the largest record labels announced they were suspending operations in Russia, on the streaming service Zvuk (belonged to Sber until May 2022). All of them were also marked "uploaded by user". The press service of Yandex Music, commenting georgia whatsapp number database on the prospects for using Zvuk's practice, then told RBC that the content on the platform "is published only under the terms of agreements with copyright holders."

However, at the same time, Kommersant, citing sources, wrote that Yandex Music was considering the possibility of allowing users to add their own music to the general catalog. The publication claimed that the so-called user-generated content (UGC) would be checked for copyright compliance, and the function itself was supposed to be used to promote up-and-coming artists who have not yet collaborated with labels.

Nikita Danilov, CEO of the National Federation of Music Industry (NFMI), calls the use of user-uploaded content by music streaming services a common practice. "Yandex Music's actions are in line with agreements with a number of major copyright holders," he is convinced. "The company also cooperates with an external technical partner approved by these copyright holders." Danilov did not specify which partner he was talking about.

RBC sent inquiries to Warner Music, Universal Music and Sony Music.

The function of uploading user compositions is also available in the social network "VKontakte", which belongs to the VK holding. However, such songs are not available in the "VK Music" application. RBC sent a request to the VK press service.

Is it legal to distribute "user-generated" music?
If Yandex Music does not currently have rights to a work under an agreement with the copyright holder, then it does not matter whether it was uploaded to the library by the service itself or by its users, says Yevgeny Safronov, head of the InterMedia agency. Yandex Music does not have the right to what is called in the law "bringing this work to the public attention," he asserts.

According to the license agreement, posting user content is only allowed in the user's personal library for his personal use, that is, without making such music publicly available, agrees Sergei Uchitel, a partner at the Pen & Paper law firm.

Denis Krauyalis, an adviser in the dispute resolution practice at Tomashevskaya & Partners, suggests that Yandex could have obtained the rights to the new releases of the departed labels through some partners. "It cannot be ruled out that here they are using the so-called pre-screening service, which was previously tested by some movie theaters, when a ticket is sold for a short film, and a Hollywood film is shown "for free," Krauyalis continues. "The same is true in this case: tracks can be posted, for example, for conditionally familiarization purposes."

Ekaterina Kalinicheva, head of the practice for protecting intellectual property on the Internet at Semenov & Pevzner, in turn, admits that "the parties have obligations that they fulfill in good faith." "Not all foreign copyright holders, including music labels, have announced their departure," she explains. "Some have announced the suspension of their activities, while others have not announced anything."

However, posting phonograms and musical works for which the term of protection of rights has not expired without the consent of the copyright holders is illegal, Kalinicheva agrees. And even foreign artists and labels can apply for protection of their rights. "In the event of claims from copyright holders, Yandex Music must at least remove illegally posted tracks," the specialist specifies. In addition, according to Sergei Uchitel from Pen & Paper, copyright holders can demand compensation in the form of double the cost of the license. "Considering the scale of the copyright holders, it should be understood that the cost of licenses is expected to be quite high," he notes.

However, Evgeny Safronov from InterMedia is skeptical about the possibility of Western companies defending their rights: “In the current geopolitical situation, the prospects are hopeless.”