Hit The Spot: The National Music Publishers' Assn. (NMPA) sent a cease & desist letter to Spotify yesterday (5/15) over what it termed "copyright infringement of our members’ musical works." Specifically, the letter takes issue with Spotify's use of lyrics in music videos and podcasts, as well as the streamer's "remix" feature, which lets users speed up, mash up or edit songs to create derivative works. NMPA maintains that such uses are copyright violations that must be paid for. Spotify issued a statement in response characterizing the cease & desist as "a press stunt filled with false and misleading claims." The NMPA letter is the latest salvo in the continuing friction between Spotify and music publishing groups (CAT 5/13).