A CONNECT DISCONNECT?

As artists and their representatives begin to navigate their way through the Apple Music ecosystem, questions have begun to arise regarding the content they can post on their Connect pages.

Apple allows up to 90 minutes of audio and 10 minutes of video to be posted (as well as images), and according to its initially stated policy artists were free to post any content they want, even though Connect is in front of the paywall (i.e. it can be viewed without a streaming subscription).

But due to a fleet of agreements now circulating between major rights holders and their artists and reps, it’s now been decreed by the majors that artists may not post full songs or videos on their Connect pages without first consulting with corporate regarding proper linking to behind-the-paywall pages. If they violate this policy, they will have those Connect pages permanently deleted.

Apple’s Connect FAQ currently reads: “Please note that you must own all rights for any content that you upload to Apple Music Connect (otherwise your access to Connect may be revoked).”

That said, Apple disclaims all responsibility for these takedowns, and is refusing to police the content playing field. The rationale behind the anything-goes policy was that artists and their representatives would police themselves, and be respectful of copyright limitations. But the potential for egregious abuses was evident to rights holders well before day one, and the labels took preemptive action.

What defines a “full” song or video? That has yet to be defined. What about demos or live performances? Might labels take a somewhat flexible policy in these instances, so that some content that isn’t for sale can be posted in full?

Publishers have yet to weigh in on this subject. Stay tuned.