“Spotify has been hit with a huge copyright lawsuit that alleges the music streaming company ‘failed to pay songwriter royalties to a publishing company approximately 21 percent of the time,’ according to the complaint,” Melanie Ehrenkranz reports for Gizmodo.
“Wixen Music Publishing filed the $1.6 billion lawsuit against Spotify on December 29th,” Ehrenkranz reports. “The music licensing company says it represents Tom Petty, Rage Against the Machine, Missy Elliott, Neil Young, Weezer, and the Beach Boys, among other artists.”
“Aside from the $1.6 billion in damages — which Wixen says is the summation of $150,000 per composition used without the proper licensing — the publishers are also seeking attorneys’ fees and costs and injunctive relief,” Ehrenkranz reports.
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Regardless:
Musicians and the music industry undermine themselves by allowing their music to be streamed by “free,” ad-supported outfits. – MacDailyNews, December 17, 2015