SoundCloud made alterations to the algorithm the service uses to check for copyright violations, and it seems to have resulted in some troubling effects.
Users have reported takedowns of material that they already own, while a number of early mixes in the Clash DJ Mix series seem to have disappeared.
This week, though, it seems that a series of high profile accounts have been frozen or taken down. Radar Radio use SoundCloud as an archive for their shows, and the station were shocked to learn that their account had been closed.
As FACT report, the station were informed that due to copyright breaches they had seven days to clean up their account – yet it was closed the next storm. A howl of online protest seemed to do the trick, however, with SoundCloud later re-instating Radar Radio.
Online publication Dummy seem to have also fallen foul of SoundCloud's copyright laws. The site reports that it's account has been frozen, with some mystifying instructions delivered in how to get it re-activated.
The site states: "The reason SoundCloud has given is that we have received three strikes for content that we have uploaded which is in breach of major record company Sony’s copyright, although SoundCloud have so far not told us which tracks are in question."
"SoundCloud have stated if we can persuade Sony to remove the objections then they will remove the strikes to restore and unlock our account. However, under instruction from Sony, SoundCloud are not allowed to tell us who to contact within the organisation. We have only ever uploaded music that Sony have sent us to promote, so it seems ridiculous that they would want to shut down our account and prevent us from supporting new music signed to their label in the future."
Read the full Dummy statement HERE.
UPDATE: DIY are also reporting that their SoundCloud account has been frozen.
