“Eminem’s music publisher filed a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against Apple Computer Inc. [sic] on Monday, alleging the computer giant violated copyrights by allowing unauthorized downloads of the Detroit rapper’s songs onto iPods,” Paul Egan reports for The Detroit News.
“A ‘burning issue’ in the music industry today is whether the rights record labels hold to sell a recording artist’s CDs include the rights to authorize music downloads, or whether further permission is needed from the music publishers who hold the copyrights to the lyrics and sheet music.,” Egan reports.
Egan reports, “Typically, Apple collects 99 cents each time an iPod owner downloads a song, with Apple paying 70 cents of that amount to the recording label, a top California entertainment lawyer, Owen Sloane of Berger Kahn, said. The recording label, in turn, typically pays 9.1 cents to the music publisher, he said.”
Egan reports, “In their complaint filed Monday, Eminem’s music publisher and copyright manager, Eight Mile Style LLC and Martin Affiliated LLC, allege that although Apple pays a portion of the revenues it collects from Eminem downloads to recording giant Universal Music Group, Eight Mile Style and Martin Affiliated have never authorized Universal to allow the downloads. ‘Eight Mile and Martin have demanded that Apple cease and desist its reproduction and distribution and Apple has refused,’ the complaint alleges.”
Full article here.
Uh, shouldn’t Eight Mile Style and Martin Affiliated really be suing Universal Music Group, not Apple?
Next stop for Em….the oldies circuit.
If they take eminem’s shit off iTunes, everyone who wants it is still gonna get it through Limewire, Bittorrent, Shareaza, etc. and eminem’s publisher won’t see a dime.
From the specifics of the lawsuit, it looks like it’s Universal who is supposedly doing something without permission. Universal granted Apple the rights to sell downloads of Eminem’s songs. If they never asked Eminem’s publisher for those rights first, well then they should fight that out in court. Why go after Apple? Maybe eminem is worried about souring his relationship with Universal?
Well if he sued Universal Music Group, it wouldn’t make headlines. This isn’t about actual damages or violation of contracts. It’s about getting the name of a washed-up no-talent has-been back in the media.
MDN: one of the adverts is often mispositioned over the captcha and submit button, making it impossible to comment. I needed to reload this page several times and finally managed to abort loading before the ad image loaded. Or is this a deliberate method of defrauding your advertisers by inflating hits?
@Mr. Peabody
I get and agree with point #2. But what do you mean by #1?
MW=industry, as in the music industry is full of technological half-wits
Desperate act of a faded star needing some media attention.
Is this some kind of annual tradition?
@Falkirk & izod: MDN’s take is still valid because Eminem only sued Apple, and not both Apple and UMG.
<sigh…> that kid is really an idiot.
Marshall, sweetie, did you not notice that your label is keeping 60.9 cents of every song sale? I know you can do basic math, hon. If you think that Apple is the one that’s screwing you, then I see an MC Hammer-style retirement in your future.
first of all I want to be a bad-ass black man ..second of all I think I can be a film star ..third of all I want to be a litigator ..and fourth ..I’m going to melt in your mouth not in your hand ..and then ..and then I have no idea, whatsoever. m&m, july 2007
Eminem. Talentless moron.
I guess suing people is easier for this guy than trying to write any more hit songs
“Hit songs…”???
I need a new dictionary.
That talentless, strung out wigger has money than he deserves anyway.
That suit is about the greedy publisher that wants more and more cash.
Not wishing to use logic or anything, but I have a distinct memory (October 2005) of Apple doing an iPod+iTunes ad for the soundtrack of Eight Mile (yes, the Eight Mile in Eight Mile Style)
The advert was featured the actual “artist”, which implies he was there and cogniscent that he was doing the ad for iTunes which implies some form of consent.
IIRC, the ad contains the name of the artist, the album and the iPod+iTunes.
Does Eminem really believe that Apple would have invited him to perform on an advert giving publicity to one of his albums out of altruism or because he is such an “artist”? Did he not realise that, when he performed for the advert, that his material would be on iTS?
If so, does this not imply a certain lack of street smarts?
Is Eminem really that stupid?
Eminem needs to spend more time with his Dermatologist and less with his lawyer.
“Is Eminem really that stupid?”
Yes.
IANAL, but it makes a lot of sense to sue Apple in this case …. Apple is the retailer actually doing the selling/distributing. The lawsuit would request and injunction barring the retailer from taking further actions that might harm the rights holder.
(It would be the same if a bricks and mortar store in, say, Japan were selling Eminem albums, but Universal (or whoever the rights holder is in Asia) had never authorized a seller in the Japanese market.)
As for why one would sue at all if the albums are selling – the answer is obvious – to gain the upper hand in the negotiations. There’s no more powerful motivator to settle a lawsuit than a judge indicating to one party that it is likely to lose.
Another reason to sell is that if a judge orders discovery, this can turn up all sorts of interesting data that is commercially useful even if the plaintiff loses the lawsuit.
Of course, none of this says anything about the actual strength of Eminem’s claims. The fact that Apple refused indicates (1) that Apple believes it can defend its actions in court, and (2) that the stakes are high enough to justify the cost of going to trial.
Looks like Eminem is out to make a deal with Apple for another iPod commercial.
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This is what happens when an “artist” becomes a washed-up-has-been. He should really stop hangin’ with Vaniila Ice.
Randian, you beat me to it.
Nonsensical racist and sexist turdlets set to a predictable rhythm are not songs.
MacDailyNews Take: Uh, shouldn’t Eight Mile Style and Martin Affiliated really be suing Universal Music Group, not Apple?
Perhaps it’s because Universal got his balls. He sues Apple because there is a better chance to get money after a settlement. I hope the judge reads the contract between Universal and Apple then quickly tosses this lawsuit into a trash bin.
Wait a minute…is MDN claiming that Marshall Mathers knows what a piece of sheet music is?
Wow call the discovery channel this is bigger than finding the Bismark!
Just my $0.02
Has M&Ms; sued Eminem yet?
Is he plain or peanuts, or just plain nuts?
just plain nuts, and a no talent nut at that.
Simple solution for Apple: pull the plug on his “music” or are they “Ross-tunes”? Tell the dork to go pound sand. Throw in a tin cup so he can beg on a street corner where he belongs.
considering I haven’t heard anything from Eminem in a while as far as publicity goes, I consider this bid for some totally lame, and semi-successful…At least he is getting an article or two written about him…
hmmm off to launch Xtorrent and download his catalog, where his music publisher will get $0.0000 of every song D/L’d ha ha!