Spotify lets users make playlists with tracks from its 20 million-song catalogue Dance record label Ministry of Sound is suing music streaming service Spotify, claiming Spotify playlists copy its compilation albums.Ministry of Sound regularly releases compilations of dance hits.
The compilations are not on Spotify, but the label says Spotify infringes copyright because some users' playlists mirror the albums' track listings.
Ministry of Sound said "a lot of research goes into" creating the compilations. Spotify did not comment.
"What we do is a lot more than putting playlists together," Ministry of Sound chief executive Lohan Presencer told The Guardian.
"A lot of research goes into creating our compilation albums, and the intellectual property involved in that. It's not appropriate for someone to just cut and paste them."
Ministry of Sound launched legal proceedings in the High Court in London on Monday.The company is seeking an injunction requiring Spotify to remove the playlists in question and to permanently block playlists that copy its compilations. It is also seeking damages and costs.
Mr Presencer wrote in a separate article: "We painstakingly create, compile and market our albums all over the world. We help music fans discover new genres, records and classic catalogues.
"Millions trust our brands, our taste and our selection. We give them great listening experiences at a good price."
He said some Spotify users had used the Ministry of Sound name in the titles of their playlists. He also claimed the service had refused to remove those playlists when asked.
"Several rounds of legal letters later, this dispute will now be settled in court," he wrote. "We believe we have a clear cut case. After 20 years and more than 50 million album sales, the value and creativity in our compilations are self evident."
Spotify allows subscribers to listen to the 20 million songs in its catalogue and use them to create their own playlists. The service, which began in Sweden, now has 24 million users in 28 countries.
Ministry of Sound does not own the copyright to many of the tracks on its compilations, the majority of which have been licensed from other record labels.
A Spotify spokesman declined to comment.
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