If you’re an original distributor of music wanting to upload your content to Microsoft Groove, you might end up hitting a bit of a roadblock. According to an anonymous source to Digital Music News, Microsoft is blocking new releases that don’t have full mechanical licensing.
Digital Music News decided to investigate by sending an email to TuneCore, a distributor that helps sell music across various digital stores including iTunes, Spotify, and Microsoft Groove. They responded:
“Please note that your sound recording(s) may not be available for streaming until Groove is able to license certain rights in the underlying musical composition(s). Customers can register their catalogs with Music Reports… which provides clearance services to stores.”
Furthermore, clearing any new song releases can take up to three months, from what Music Reports explained.
The report claims that they don’t know why this sudden change in January 2017 has come about. But it really isn’t too surprising that Microsoft wants to keep its nose clean. After all, music streamers, including Spotify, have been charged with millions in fines due to missing mechanical licenses.
No comment has been made by Microsoft regarding Groove’s policy as of yet, we’ve asked, and will report back with any comment.
