NTS are just one of many recent takedowns due to copyright disagreements
Soundcloud has been flexing its legal muscle recently as it issues a flurry of account deletions.
A copyright detection algorithm that searches through Soundcloud for any music that doesn’t belong to the account owner started erasing accounts over six months ago. It’s unclear what exactly puts an account in line for deletion, but NTS’ shows that feature music from various third-party owners may have triggered the account’s demise.
The story behind Soundcloud’s sudden heavy-handedness is complex. As it seeks to become profitable via a soon to be launched subscription-based service, the company is trying to cut deals with major labels Sony and Universal, and while that happens, any music belonging to either company is being taken down (though, strangely, as FACT reports, Soundcloud has been taking down original compositions on its rightful owners’ accounts too).
Thankfully, NTS have shifted their shows over to Mixcloud. Listen here.
