North Korea, China, Syria, Iran, Russia, Cuba… and Uruguay. Since the beginning of December, the Uruguayans and Spotify began a separation which places the country on a list with unusual companions and little affinity with the democratic and civic traditions that are precisely the trademark of Uruguay.
The matter acquired such a dimension that the President of the Republic, Luis Lacalle Pou, promised his compatriots that the absence of Spotify from their electronic devices is an issue that will be resolved soon: «We are in talks, we are going to move forward, I hope so. “We are going to agree.”
«We must try to be balanced, we understand that It is a very important platform for all. In fact, today morning I received the notification that reached many. “We also have to somehow take care of the interpreters and also the authors,” he added.
What led Spotify to withdraw from Uruguay? The new copyright law approved in Parliament. Spotify denounced in a letter sent to the Minister of Education and Culture, Pablo da Silveira, that, despite the adjustments that were made to the law, the company will have to “pay twice” for the same content. According to the Uruguayan newspaper The countrySpotify considers that now “the performers They may claim payment for the reproduction of their contents. and not just to the producer who hired them to make their album, who today Spotify already pays for every time his music is listened to.
This is what Lacalle Pou refers to when he talks about being “balanced.” He understands the position of the platform, but also the Uruguayan artists who hope to make a living from his work.