Infringe Now--Apologize Later: Is Class Action a Viable Remedy for Songwriters Claiming Copyright Infringement by Spotify?

Abstract

Spotify's compensation model pays out royalties to the record labels, which then compensate the artists and performers. However, Spotify cites the record labels as the reason that artists are not getting paid, but that explanation glosses over whether or not Spotify has infringed upon the copyrights by streaming songs that the company does not have the license to. The streaming service is currently facing the threat of two class action lawsuits that allege that their payment model infringes song writers' copyrights. The two questions, here, are: Has Spotify infringed upon the copyrights of owners of works that the service streams? Will a class action suit be the remedy for infringement, if infringement can be shown?