Some say ‘the floodgates have opened’ and some say ‘the game has totally changed’. But the news are true: Spotify now allows artists to directly upload songs to the platform.

The new feature enables independent artists to upload tracks to the service directly –without any requirement for a third-party aggregator or record label. What this means to the likes of CDBaby or TuneCore is currently unclear. However, the new service is in the beta phase and soon to be released for all Spotify users.

Not only the artists will be able access the upload function via the Spotify For Artists platform, but they will also be able to continue to view the listener data. This means Spotify really gives artists control over what they upload and how they analyze the results of their content. Only a few weeks ago Spotify started allowing artists to directly pitch their songs to official Spotify playlists.

So why is Spotify doing this? Are they mere angels looking to help creatives? The reality is that content is the name of the game (in the context of big data). We are in the age of content creators, and the platform who has the most content, ultimately has the most data.  In July, the Spotify’s CEO, Daniel Ek, reiterated to investors during a Q2 earnings call that he ultimately wants to create a “two-sided marketplace” serving both consumers and musicians. He also stated “our goal is to get as much music onto the Spotify platform as we possibly can”.) This is so important to Spotify, that they will make the upload feature completely free.

This move by Spotify also brings the ‘free upload platforms’, such as Soundcloud into question. Another issue that needs further clarification is that how will Spotify distribute royalties in this new system, and will the royalty rates change at all.

These are all fair questions for now, but it seems that Spotify has just started a new torrent of creative disruption in the music industry and beyond.

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Alper Tuzcu is a Berklee College of Music and Denison University alumni, and a Boston based guitarist, songwriter and producer. His new album ‘Aurora’ will be released on October 19, 2018 and his debut eclectic album ‘Between 12 Waters’ featuring 8 different vocalists is available on Spotify. In addition to being a musician, he regularly teaches workshops and masterclasses internationally. You can follow him onInstagram or Twitter, and for more information you can visit his website www.alpertuzcu.com