‘Spotify applied for a license,’ says Turkey’s media authority

* Photo: Pexels

Click to read the article in Turkish

Having warned four broadcasters on the ground that they did not have the necessary license for online broadcasting in Turkey, the Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK) has announced that Spotify made an application for licensing within the period stipulated by the Council.

Indicating that Spotify applied for a license within 72 hours, RTÜK has said that they are now preparing for the licensing processes.

CLICK - RTÜK gives 72 hours to Spotify for license, Bildirici says, 'It is because of podcasts'

Releasing a statement about the issue, the Council has indicated that "its Supreme Board always communicates with both national and international media organizations in a constructive way and is open to dialogue." The Council has added, "Taking it as its mission to support audio and visual media, RTÜK will always be a guide for broadcasters."

What happened?

On October 12, 2020, the Supreme Board of the Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK), the media authority of Turkey, warned four broadcasters (Spotify and FoxPlay as well as two other broadcasters based in Turkey, namely Medyaport TV and Paylas FM) on the ground that they did not have the necessary license for online broadcasting in Turkey.

Requesting them to apply to obtain a license from the RTÜK to continue broadcasting, the Supreme Board gave these four broadcasters 72 hours time to start their licensing processes.

In a notice published on RTÜK's website, the broadcasters were told that they could make an application with a petition and an affirmative covenant and had to pay a licensing fee for 3 months in advance.

Those who failed to apply to RTÜK would have to suspend activities within 72 hours. If not, the RTÜK would file a complaint against the companies as per the Article 33 of the Law no. 6112 and apply to a penal judgeship of peace for an access block as per the Article 29/A of the same law.

The RTÜK previously requested international broadcasters such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Mubi to start their licensing processes.

Last August, the RTÜK published a regulation and brought the Internet broadcasting in the country under its authority.

Accordingly, the license fee is 10,000 lira (~1,290 USD) for internet radios and 100,000 lira for TV and on-demand video broadcast. Also, the platforms have to use RTÜK's "symbol system" for broadcasting and inform viewers about the content of programs verbally or in written form. (HA/SD)