A rapper stole your beat? Here is how to take down their song from Spotify, Apple Music, etc

So, you’ve discovered that someone recorded a track using your beat and uploaded it to platforms without purchasing a license. We’ve all been there – putting in hours, sometimes days, into crafting the perfect beat, only to find out that someone ripped a tagged MP3 from YouTube and rapped about money and a luxury lifestyle over it. So in this article, I’ll explain what to do if someone steals your beat and how to remove the track from Spotify, Apple Music, and other major music platforms for copyright infringement. Fortunately, it’s quite easy to do.

Step 1: gather evidence

Before you start the takedown process of the track with the stolen beat, make sure you have all your evidence lined up. This can be:

• The original beat file with timestamps showing when you created it.
• Proof of your ownership, like screenshots/screen recordings from your DAW.
• Links to the website where your beat was first uploaded and where the license can be purchased.

Any videos you want to provide as proof of your authorship can be uploaded to YouTube as Unlisted with direct link access only. Also, prepare a link to the track you want to take down. You will need all of this information when filling out your complaint.

Step 2: before removing a track with a stolen beat, try to contact the artist directly

Now it’s time for some diplomacy. Before removing the track from the platforms for copyright infringement, try to contact the artist directly and offer to buy a license. Avoid being too harsh at this stage, as the rapper may have stolen your beat unintentionally – they may not know how this beat leasing thing works. There’s even a chance they could be a good person and you could build a good relationship. However, make it clear that this is not how things should be done and that you will have to remove the track with your beat from all platforms if they refuse to buy a license.

Step 3: submit a takedown request to remove a track with your beat from all platforms

If the artist refuses to buy a license and won’t remove the track with the stolen beat, it’s time to escalate and initiate a takedown process. Apple Music, Spotify, Deezer and other platforms have specific forms or email addresses for copyright complaints:

• Apple Music: apple.com/legal
• Spotify: support.spotify.com
• YouTube Music: support.google.com
• Deezer: support.deezer.com

If the service you are looking for is not in the list above, just google “platform name DMCA report” and you’ll probably find the right form as the first link. This doesn’t mean you have to contact each service’s support to remove the track. In most cases, your complaint will be forwarded to the distributor, who will remove the track with the stolen beat from all platforms where it was published.

You can also directly contact the distributor through which the track was uploaded to the platforms. To find out which distributor the artist used, just find the auto-generated video of the track you want to remove on YouTube and look for something like “Provided to YouTube by DistroKid” in the description. This is how automatically generated videos look like:

Example: how to submit a copyright infringement complaint and remove a track with your beat from Apple Music

While each streaming platform’s takedown process is different, it generally involves gathering information about you as the author of the music and the track you want removed. Let’s take a look at how to remove a track with a stolen beat for copyright infringement, using Apple Music as an example.

First, go to the Apple Music complaint page and provide your information. You can use your producer name in the “Rights Owner” field, but you’ll need to provide your real name in all other fields.

Next, you’ll be asked to provide a link to the disputed content. You can also use the search function, which works perfectly well.

In the next step, select the reason for your complaint: for beats, you should select “Copyright (Composition)”. Also, select the territories where your rights are violated (just select all territories), and add a note regarding this complaint.

For the note text, you can use this one. Just edit it to your liking:

My name is [Your Name], and I am the author of the instrumental used in this track. It has been used without my permission. The beat was originally posted on my YouTube channel (BeatStars profile, website) on January 01, 2024: [link]. Here is additional evidence proving my ownership of the beat, including:

• The original beat file, with no voice tags: [link].
• A screen recording of the project file of this instrumental: [YouTube link].

I have contacted the artist about this situation, and they have refused to obtain a license to use this beat: [screenshot link].

Given the circumstances, I kindly request the immediate removal of this track from your platform. Thank you for your understanding and assistance.

Best regards, [Your Name]

After submitting the request to remove the track with the stolen beat, you’ll receive an automatic email confirming your complaint has been registered. Then, all you have to do is wait for the track to be removed from the platforms.

In the meantime, keep making fire beats!