“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?
RePlay got it right !
No one held a gun to his head when he signed that contract with Universal.
Now that he’s pissed away all of the money he made when he was hot, he is grasping at straws, trying to find a way to extract more money out of his work.
The poor bastard does not realize that even if Apple or Universal is forced to come up with some extra cash, the lawyers will get most of it.
It’s not hard to understand. Feeding a habit is not cheap.
For gods sake!
Didnt they sort this out when Eminem took Apple to court previously??
More and more im seeing him as a money grabbing asshole.
His music is crap anyway.
@Galloway
#1 is just a complicated way of saying that Windows intallations should equal no more than 50% world-wide, and that other OSes, including OS X should comprise the other 50%.
Sorry for the confusion – even I didn’t understand it when I re-read it. Eventually I’d like to see MS focusing mostly on apps. and not have any more than 20% or 30% of the global OS installation base [Windows]. I could live with Windows if it were only 20% of all installed desktop OSes.
The issue here is whether Uni requested a mechanical license from MM’s music publisher, and was denied. If so, Uni would still be able to sell MM’s music under the terms of a COMPULSORY mechanical license issued by the US Copyright Office.
But compulsory licenses are more cumbersome for the party seeking the license (e.g. requiring monthly accountings, rather than quarterly). Generally, mechanical licensing in the US is facilitated by the Harry Fox Agency, a third party which helps streamline the process for everyone involved.
So…if Uni sought a license, and was denied, they may be liable for copyright infringement if they continued to sell MM’s music without getting a compulsory license. Apple would then be contributorily liable for allowing the unauthorized sales.
Actually, I think this lawsuit is a big deal, and fairly important step for a recording artist—well unless the publishers win big and artist get screwed again. While, I think the music industry is a morass of confusing laws designed specifically to aid big corporations and screw over artist.
Most artist have contracts that pretty much sign over rights to everything to the record label; but some artist (especially larger name artist have contracts that simple aren’t that simple–they include profit sharing, secondary outlet controls, and host of other provisions); add that to the fact that a growing number of artists are become digitally aware at a much faster rate than their labels and you have a big ole fight for control.
Now I don’t like that they’ve targeted Apple versus Universal, but I can understand that. Apple is the distributer, and stopping distribution until the suit has been settle requires targeting Apple. Plus we can’t really ignore the publicity level involved in suing Apple either.
But take a look at an artist like John Mayer (not to argue if he’s any good or not), but if you pull up his record in iTunes you’ll notice that he has 24 albums, and that a number of these are concert records. My point is, there was a point in time on iTunes that a number of artists were doing this, they were releasing concert versions of their songs or unreleased EPs of their music explorations.
The artist were doing this, then the labels pulled the cord. They made sure that they owned exclusive control of digital distribution if possible, if contracts were already in place that didn’t grant them this, then I’m certain other threats, like lack of promotion of future releases were probably used.
The point is, that now you can find these for some artist, its no where near as pervasive as it was that one summer. So now if you want a recording of the Chicago, IL concert of your favorite artist, because they did a version of so in so song, and growled versus hummed, you’re mostly back to bootlegs. And it’s not like artists don’t want to give it to you, because your average artist makes far more money from concerts than album releases. So if they controlled distribution of recordings from concerts they’d make even more money. But this is a big label fight.
Eminem should just shut down and give the shareholders back their money if hes gonna go after Apple.
Pathetic little Marshall will be learning how to make fries from Leon Spinks in Nebraska before the end of the year.
I used to hate eminems. Then I tried some of the off the counter eminems and I got really hooked. Now I use one every day. Oh, wait, that’s enemas. Doh..
Guess they think Apple has deeper pockets that Universal Music Group…
Them GREEDY fat baastards are at it again! This is Universal using wot’s sis name to trump up a lawsuit they are not sure they are going to win in order to leverage more money off itunes in the form of higher prices to the customer!
This will backfire and poor (oxymoron) wot’s sis name will end up with the fall out!!
Right now he thinks that he will get more money by rubber stamping that action by the Universal fat baastards, when they fail as they surely will, they will pass the cost of the lawsuit to wot’s sis name!!!
Apple should just skip passing the iphone business to the fat baastards in France, the Zune experience will be a non event and they will come running to Apple with their tails between their legs.
I wonder if Camel’s Milk would have a soporific effect on them Greedy Fat Bastards?
Zune Tang hitting the head on the nail? Wonders will never cease..