Recently artists like Neil Young and Joni Mitchell demanded that Spotify take down their music from their service. They objected to Spotify hosting Joe Rogan’s podcast, one of Spotify’s most popular podcasts, because it spread COVID-19 misinformation. Whether an artist has the right to take down their music is an interesting question.
For sound recordings that are audio-only (meaning no video), Artists or their labels can take down their music from on-demand services like Spotify and Apple Music. However, if an artist’s music is on a non-interactive service radio streaming service like Pandora or iHeart, they cannot take their music in the USA but can do so internationally. That is because in the United States, there is a statutory right to broadcast sound recordings provided the radio service pays the per-play rate set by the Copyright Royalty Board. Attorney Elizabeth Moody explains in her recent article in The Hollywood Reporter why this is so. Article.