Spotify is blackmailing the Polish government. Give in or there will be raises

The Polish government intends to amend copyright law. They are to implement two EU directives from 2019. Public consultations on this matter have already ended and if everything goes according to plan, a vote in the Sejm will take place in 2-3 weeks. Spotify has already announced that the changes may mean price increases for users – inform Wirtualne Media.

Will new regulations mean higher Spotify prices?

First of all, the amendment to copyright law will force platforms to pay royalties resulting from the reproduction of their works on the Internet. For Spotify, this means paying double tax, which the platform may not be able to financially bear without having to increase prices for users.

If an additional payment was imposed, the cost would have to be offset by the cost of our support to local artists, a price increase for Polish users, or other means.

Imposing a double fee on music streaming platforms for the same content would significantly burden Spotify’s operations in Poland, limiting our investment opportunities. This would undoubtedly impact our ability to support national artists and the service itself, which many consumers enjoy

– announce Dustee Jenkins and Mateusz Smółka from Spotify.

Therefore, Spotify calls for a different solution that will be satisfactory for all parties. However, there is no indication that the government will withdraw from these changes. Minister of Culture Bartłomiej Sienkiewicz believes that the change should be voted on in the Sejm in 2-3 weeks. Therefore, it is almost certain that the new law will come into force in the first half of this year.