Spotify removes Bollywood songs post failure of licensing renewal, leaving fans furious

Following the failure of agreements to renew their licencing deal last week, the music streaming service Spotify was obliged to delete the complete collection of Bollywood songs from Zee Music Company. Fans and followers of Bollywood music took to social media to express their discontent with the decision. Some people have even threatened to terminate their app subscriptions.

Zee Music also terminated connections with the music app Gaana in 2022 by declining to extend its licencing arrangement with it. Gaana switched to being a subscription-only service a few months later.

According to a report on Billboard, the music app said in a statement, "Spotify and Zee Music have been unable to reach a licensing agreement. Throughout these negotiations, Spotify has tried to find creative ways to strike a deal with Zee Music and will continue our good faith negotiations in hopes of finding a mutually agreeable solution soon.”

On its website, the music app makes it clear that it cannot give users access to all of the world's music and podcasts. It strikes licencing agreements with publishers and rights holders so that their music recordings can be played online, much like the streaming service Netflix does.

Furious fans stormed Twitter and complained about the move. One user wrote, "Nagada Sang Dhol and a whole litany of Bollywood songs were removed from Spotify and my week is ruined." Another user vented, "is spotify beefing with bollywood why are they taking off almost all the songs what do they have against daaru desi and kala chashma." 

Tracks like Makhna from Drive (2019), Zaalima from Raees (2017), and Maiyya Mainu from Jersey (2022) have all been taken out. Also removed were the soundtracks for the period drama Kalank (2019), the award-winning Gully Boy (2019), and the romantic comedy Veere Di Wedding (2018).