Spotify today has been hit with a pair of lawsuits that accuse the streaming service of “staggering” copyright infringement. Spotify is no stranger to issues with royalty payouts and licensing problems, and while the company has taken steps to improve in those areas, these lawsuits claim it still has a long way to go… Sylvania HomeKit Light Strip As noted by The Hollywood Reporter, the the …
In December and January, Spotify was hit with back-to-back lawsuits from David Lowery and Melissa Ferrick — both professors and artists — who sought class action certification over royalties they allege have gone unpaid to songwriters by the world’s largest streaming service. Lowery sought $150 million in damages in his suit, while Ferrick sought $200 million. Those suits were essentially the …
In a putative class action alleging widespread copyright infringement commenced in December 2015 against Spotify, Plaintiff, the lead singer for the bands Cracker and Camper Van Beethoven, recently moved pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(d) to monitor — and possibly prevent — Spotify USA, Inc. (“Spotify”) from engaging in communications with individuals who …
The motion alleges that Spotify may be misrepresenting the details of a proposed settlement with publishers. Attorneys representing David Lowery in his lawsuit against Spotify want to know what the music streaming service has been telling songwriters. In a motion filed this week in the Central District Court of California, Lowery and the other three plaintiffs have asked the judge for…
The class-action lawsuit against Spotify filed by musician David Lowery has taken another twist. A new filing on behalf of Lowery and his co-plaintiffs is seeking more details of the streaming service’s proposed publishing-royalties settlement with the National Music Publishers Association (NMPA). The filing requests that “all communications between Defendant Spotify USA Inc. (‘Spotify’) (and…
The law firm handling Cracker frontman David Lowery’s class action suit against Spotify has offered up an FAQ for songwriters and publishers ahead of an imminent settlement between the streaming service and the National Music Publishers Association, or NMPA. The rub? Little is known about the proposed deal, from its dollar amount to how it would be processed, so think hard — and call your …
The National Music Publishing Association (NMPA) has announced its successful brokering of a settlement between Spotify and its constituents over unmatched (songs that haven’t received payment because Spotify didn’t identify their publishers) and unpaid song royalties, a topic that has given rise to several legal cases against the streaming services over the past few months. The settlement …
A new online system could save streaming services a few headaches — and perhaps a few lawsuits — by giving music publishers direct involvement in the often messy process of mechanical licensing. Back in December, Spotify was hit with a $150 million class-action lawsuit from a group of artists — led by musician David Lowery — who said that the streaming giant failed to obtain licenses for its …
Melissa Ferrick’s 150 songs have played about a million times on Spotify. But the 45-year-old independent artist says the popular streaming music service has shortchanged her by failing to fully license her songs. The man bolstering Ferrick’s claims, laid out in a $200 million lawsuit, is music-technology entrepreneur Jeff Price.
Another songwriter has sued streaming music service Spotify — accusing the company of “wholesale copyright infringement” — in an escalation of the ongoing battle over online royalties and licensing. A complaint filed Friday on behalf of Newburyport, Mass.-based artist Melissa Ferrick accused the digital music giant of using her music without properly licensing her work, marking the second …