Bollywood songs have been removed from Spotify
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Sulaiman
- . March 24, 2023
- . Update: March 24, 2023 9:28 pm
Imagine launching your favorite playlist, which you carefully curated over hours, only to discover that half the songs were missing.
You might not need to imagine it if you’re a Bollywood fan with a Spotify account. This is due to the app losing hundreds of songs from some of India’s biggest blockbusters.
After the previous one expired, Spotify claims it was unable to agree with the owners of the songs. The deleted hits included songs that have received millions of plays, such as Kala Chashma from Baar Baar Dekho or Malhari from the epic romance Bajirao Mastani.
Many users’ playlists now have gaps because of it; they only realized the songs were missing after loading and playing them.
What will I listen to right now?
Vishma Rai, a fan of Bollywood, was traveling by coach when BBC Newsbeat spoke with her.
She usually had a playlist of her favorite songs to get her through the trip, including songs from movies like Kalank and Ram-Leela. But she discovered many were missing this time. She exclaims, “I’m so upset, this is crazy.”
“The loss of the Kalank songs is terrible. The title track was one of my favorites, and it’s just so depressing. I’m not sure what music I’ll be listening to right now when I want to feel pampered.”
Bollywood music enhances the action on-screen and continues to be heard in headphones years after a film’s release, according to fans like Vishma.
When a movie doesn’t perform well, people may remember the music instead.
Nagada Sang Dhol, from the tragic love story drama Ram-Leela, is another of Vishma’s favorites. She calls it “one of the most epic movies ever.” And she won’t just miss them while traveling by coach.
“The fact that they are not there is extremely annoying. They used to make up a significant portion of my daily motivating songs, “she claims. “But now I’m at a loss for what to do. I miss them, and it makes me sad.”
Zeenat, a fellow movie enthusiast, informed Newsbeat that she had canceled her Spotify subscription in protest.
When the previous licensing agreement came to an end, Spotify revealed that it was unable to renew it with the track’s owners, Zee Music. Zee Music was a difficult partner to work with, but Spotify said it “tried to find creative ways to strike a deal with them and will continue our good faith negotiations in hopes of finding a mutually agreeable solution soon.”
