Homonyms of the world, separate! / column by Óscar Acevedo

A few days ago, I received a WhatsApp message that left me in suspense. It turns out a kind namesake wrote to me from Canada explaining what's happening with his YouTube account. In his respectful letter, he told me that six albums appear on that account that aren't his—six phonograms I've released on various platforms through the well-known content aggregator CD Baby.

Faced with this unusual situation, I contacted him to resolve this issue. After receiving his explanations and searching my aggregator's website, I received instructions via chat on how to process an "artist separation" for each of the major music distribution platforms. This process will take time depending on the response speed of each one.

What I don't understand is that the two of us involved have different email addresses and different countries registered on our accounts. These differences should be enough for them to manage each other's work separately, although I don't think this issue is on the agenda of these companies with millions of users.

In the past, I've witnessed the confusion that namesakes create around the world . It happened to me at the New Delhi Jazz Festival when, seconds before I went on stage, the MC announced in my place a rock drummer from Santander with the same name as me and originally from Colombia, to top it all off. I suppose that was the first biography the MC found online—plop!

My Canadian-based namesake is also a musician, but he releases soundtrack-style electronic works, a different activity from my own. Like all of my colleagues making music these days, this amiable namesake uploads them to platforms to disseminate his work in the medium with the greatest reach: digital.

In conclusion, keeping track of copyrighted works is a nightmare for independent artists. The volume of music uploaded to platforms has overwhelmed individuals' ability to manage their rights on their own, limited means. It's time to create filters and categories so users can manage their content efficiently.