Use of Spotify’s Video Podcast Tool to Illegally Pirate Movies

Spotify users have been using the streaming platform to listen to their favorite music hits, but some are using it to watch movies. Several TikTok users have been posting videos showing how anyone can access movies on Spotify, such as Minions: The Rise of Gru, Pinocchio, and Mean Girls. The clips suggested that TikToker was astonished by this discovery, but this is only due to piracy. It seems that Spotify users are using the Spotify video podcast tool to share these movies.

TikTok reported that the videos were playing perfectly on Spotify. The streaming music platform, on its part, has cracked down on pirated content (At least the movies that went viral through TikTok). Most of the content, if not all, was removed. The problem hasn’t ended yet, as instead of full movies, several podcasts that were shown were linked with pirated websites. It’s unclear how to direct movie streams were available on Spotify for viewing.

Spotify’s Spokesperson said,” IP violation is an industry-wide issue that is taken very seriously by us. Any content provided to Spotify that violates the piracy rights of third parties will be removed.” The Spokesman further stated that the company invested heavily in the detection and removal of such material.

Piracy issues aren’t Spotify’s only problem regarding the content. Earlier this year, several artists and content creators boycotted the platform for its broadcast due to a podcast that was spreading misinformation about COVID-19. Since then, the company has added content advisors to issue its content policies.

Spotify introduced its video podcast tools in 2020 to solidify its stakes in a place that can push the streamers to pass music content and increase its profitability. Since then, the company has rolled out video more widely, allowing more creators in different countries to use the features to cope with the growing threat of YouTube.

The streaming platform and government tend to crack down on piracy, but access to free content is readily available thanks to the impossible logistics of policing every free video. According to a 2019 report by the Chamber of Commerce, global online piracy causes a loss of $29.2 billion to the US economy every year.

It is hard to get consumers to care about piracy because they are getting the content they desire free of cost. Michael Smith, a professor of information technology, says, “As we know when you are getting something for free, you are less likely to pay for it.” Research reports have revealed that piracy has hurt films and content sales significantly. The stunted sales led studios to make different kinds of movies but release fewer photos.