Spotify pulls some comedy content amid royalties dispute
CNN
Spotify is not joking around amid a dispute over royalties for comedy content. The streaming giant has removed the work of hundreds of comedians from its platform -- including Tiffany Haddish, Kevin Hart and the late Robin Williams -- according to rights agency Spoken Giants.
Spoken Giants, which represents some of the affected comedians, describes itself as "the first global rights administration company for the owners and creators of spoken word copyrights," and aims to get streaming platforms to pay comedians for writing jokes in the same way songwriters are paid.
The group told CNN that the take-down happened on November 24, and said that it never requested the content's removal.
After recent burglaries at homes of professional athletes – including Kansas City Chiefs stars Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce – the NFL and NBA have issued security memos to teams and players warning that “organized and skilled groups” are increasingly targeting players’ residences for such crimes.