Music artist, composer Steven Cravis reports his complaints about some of the TuneCore services. This post follows an article posted on the DigitalMusicNews.com website under the title: An Artist Finally Gets the Guts to Take on TuneCore.

The article starts with this introduction: This is the type of artist that used to be TuneCore’s biggest cheerleader. Now, he’s decided to speak out against unfair and predatory practices that have emerged at the company, and risk the ramifications that come with that.

Steven’s premise is that TuneCore, which began as a way to help and protect artists, has reverted back to the old industry model of exploitation at every opportunity. He then lists his first two points of main contention:

• First, TuneCore pulled a “bait and switch” retroactive change to the terms and conditions of its Publishing Administration deal.

• Second, TuneCore is making a rights grab to control my music in YouTube.

What Cravis didn’t know was that Tunecore was going to change the terms of their agreed upon non-exclusive deal in the middle, making them exclusive. Steve says: “Suddenly I (and potentially thousands of other TuneCore artists) would have to drop out of other non-exclusive synch licensing arrangements and give TuneCore my rights exclusively in exchange for TuneCore continuing to provide its service.”

It’s only natural that Steven wonders how many thousands of other artists TuneCore tricked with this bait and switch maneuver. Then he goes on to explain how TuneCore grabbed unauthorized copyrights to his YouTube royalty (performance income) rights.

At the bottom of the article, Steven posts a series of 9 email messages (truncated) which went back and forth between him and the TuneCore management. The emails are dated from February through December 2013 to show how this story started and unfolded.

Please note, if you are using TuneCore for any of your publishing admin or licensing sales services, we urge that you carefully read the terms of service, and if you haven’t already started with TuneCore, be sure to read them carefully and consider running them by a qualified entertainment attorney to be sure of the terms and your rights.

Meanwhile we wish Steven Cravis, a former LicenseQuote publisher, much success in getting out from under his undeserved copyrights entrapment.

Link to article on the Digital Music News site:
http://www.digitalmusicnews.com/permalink/2013/12/18/tunecorepredatory