SoundCloud Removed Silent Song for Copyright Infringement

Not only has SoundCloud terminated our account, the streaming playform has recently removed a track containing nothing but pure silence. An artist that goes by D.J. Detweiler uploaded a track containing no audio with the name “John Cage – 4’33.” If you’re familiar with music history, you’d know that this is actually the name of a popular orchestral performance “composed” by the 20th-century experimental musician. Like its name suggests, Cage’s song was four minutes and 22 seconds of no singing or instrument playing, and instead focuses on the other sounds emitting from the audience in the venue — shifting, chattering, coughing, etc. D.J. Detweiler uploaded this as an experiment to see if the streaming platform will remove music based on the title of the track and not the content itself, and from this trial his hypothesis seems to be correct. Check out the screencap below.