I’ve noticed a couple of editors uploading ‘best of month/year’ playlists that are hosted on Spotify as new releases. The playlists aren’t being physically released, and digitally they are just playlists and not specifically released compilations.
What’s the best action here? I don’t feel comfortable chasing an editor around removing what seems to be good-faith entries (images and release info are added) but equally I’m not sure the releases belong in the way they’ve been entered. But because new releases auto-approve there’s no way to watch out for them in a voting stage.
They should be removed, but like you I gave up trying to chase this as so many of these editors are deaf to the posts. Even when pointing at the guidelines.
The community has not come to this consensus (no consensus has been reached)
Apart from having ‘playlist’ in the name these are no different from any other downloadable bootleg compilation, which we allow if notable/widespread enough. If someone can define the difference for me, then I will reconsider my position, but it has not been done so far.
Because the above has never been answered, over the course of years of discussion, I have begun to no-vote removals of this series if I see them.
@glawie this bootleg series isn’t related to Spotify - are you sure you’re familiar with this series?
It seems to me this specific example pretty clearly matches the example given in the style guide about compiled top X playlists, which should be removed.
It’s not like Billboard has some sort of official monopoly on the concept of compiling Top X playlists, I would understand the rules to apply to the general concept.
It’s a very specific distinction that the guidelines are making - a ‘top Christmas songs 2022’ compilation* is very different to the Billboard ‘top Christmas songs 2022’ list. IRP playlists are firmly in the camp of the former/compilation example.
i don’t think spotify “top-something” playlists belong, generally, but IRP aren’t playlists in anything but their name it’s an extremely long-running bootleg compilation series. spotify playlists aren’t even their main form, as far as i know. they nearly always have direct download or torrent releases too
finding the correct recording versions should be very easy; they’re directly linked to their official digital counterparts
again, this specific series is very well-archived. they do not change year to year. they have archives as early as 2006, years before spotify was created. they are not “playlists” in any traditional sense. that’s just their name.
I though we sort of came to the decision that a playlist by an artist and/or label that looks to have been uploaded by them or their representative could stay, but that “best of month/year” should be removed. Many of those are just uploaded by a user looking at a Billboard or similar chart and could potentially be copyrighted.
It looks like nothing is going to change so I’m just griping here, but gripe I shall. I can’t stand these bootleg playlist/compilation things. Every day I get email notifications about changes to my subscribed artists, and I click expectantly hoping to learn of a new release or hidden gem only to see it’s another “Indie/Rock Playlist”, how boring.
In the software world they had this concept of “shovelware” where someone would take all of the games and utilities uploaded to a BBS and stick 'em on a CDROM without any quality control. That’s what these feel like: no theme, no curation, they’re not even sequenced, just a bunch of MP3s thrown into a zip file in alphabetical order.
I guess it wouldn’t bother me so much if I could somehow mute or ignore them.
And you will keep seeing these notifications for the next million years if they keep get removed, as new users have consistently been re-adding them for years.
Why do you say IRP isn’t curated? Obviously there is a theme
Edit: yes to muting edit types (recording merges…)
@aerozol Yeah, I know they’re not releases by Spotify, but these two examples are only available in the following ways from the ‘official source’, https://www.theindierockplaylist.com
Direct download from Mega.nz - I doubt that’s official.
Spotify - user-made playlist on the platform
Deezer - same as above
These aren’t bootlegs in the sense of ‘live performance not released elsewhere’, or ‘unpublished song’ - these are just compilations of songs that are readily available, but not officially licenced in any way.
it’s an extremely long-running bootleg compilation series. spotify playlists aren’t even their main form, as far as i know. they nearly always have direct download or torrent releases too