According to an e-mail recently made public, Universal Music has the ability to access, and remove any music they feel infringes on copyright guidelines found on Soundcloud:
“The control of removing content is completely with Universal. This means I can't tell you why they removed your uploads and not others, and you would really need to ask them that question.”
Popular dance music producers, including superstar Kaskade, have expressed extreme displeasure with Soundcloud's copyright processes. Now, users have to deal with major Record Labels that can, apparently, remove music without any notice or explanation. When music is deleted, Soundcloud suggests that a dispute must be filed with the label.
Here's how Soundcloud responded:
“As a responsible hosting platform, we work hard to ensure that everyone's rights are respected. In the case of rights holders, that means having processes in place to ensure that any content posted without authorisation is removed quickly and efficiently.”
“In the case of users, that means having separate processes in place to ensure that any content removed in error can be reinstated equally quickly. If any user believes that content has been removed in error – for example, because they had the necessary permissions from Universal Music and/or any other rights holder – then they are free to dispute the takedown.”
