Smit Family Feud: Music Expert Criticizes Monique‘s Handling of Brother’s Move
Amsterdam, Netherlands – Entertainment commentator Ronald Molendijk publicly questioned Monique Smit’s foresight after her brother, Jan Smit, removed her popular Sinterklaas songs from streaming platforms like Spotify ahead of the holiday season. The move, stemming from a years-long family dispute, has impacted Smit professionally and financially.
The songs were taken down by Jan Smit, who controls the rights through his record company. Molendijk suggested Monique should have anticipated this action and proactively secured her work. “It’s a bit naive not to do that,when you sense that your brother wants to bother you and he did it this way,” he stated during a segment on Show news.
Molendijk drew a parallel to Taylor Swift’s well-publicized battle with her former record label, suggesting Smit could have re-recorded the songs under a new title - “Monique’s Version” – to circumvent the record company’s control.”She re-recorded all her albums. They called it Taylor’s version. You could say: make the Sinterklaas songs that you recorded and put underneath: Monique’s version. Then you eliminate that record company.”
According to Show News‘ Evert Santegoeds,the dispute between the siblings has been ongoing for approximately four years. While the record company ultimately loses revenue from the removed streams and sales, Santegoeds believes Jan Smit’s motivation is primarily personal. “Well,I assume it is indeed much more on a personal level. That is why it is being done at this moment, to hit her hard.”
Molendijk acknowledged the financial impact on the record company itself, noting, “It’s also vrey strange, because the record company always makes the most money from a stream or sale, so they are shooting themselves in the foot the most, but apparently they can suffer financially.”
