Streaming giant Spotify was accused in federal court in New York of underpaying royalties for tens of millions of songs.
Streaming giant Spotify accused in New York federal court of underpaying Copyright for tens of millions of songs.
The lawsuit, filed late Thursday by the nonprofit Mechanical Licensing Collectivemaintains that Spotify declared income less than half to avoid paying millions of dollars it owes the group.
The lawsuit against Spotify for non-payment of copyright
“Spotify paid a record amount to publishers and companies in 2023 and is on track to pay an even larger amount in 2024,” a Spotify spokesperson said in a statement on Friday. “We look forward to a quick resolution of this matter.”
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He MLC CEO Kris Ahrend said in a statement that the group “takes seriously its legal responsibility to take action on behalf of our members when we believe usage reports and royalty payments are materially incorrect.”
US law allows security services streaming how to spotify get one general “compulsory license” for copyrighted music to a specific type of fee. The United States Copyright Office designated MLC to collect royalties for songwriters and music publishers.
The group’s lawsuit said that after adding access to audiobooks, Spotify incorrectly rerated its service in a way that significantly reduced the amount of royalties that it owed under the license, “despite the fact that there has been no change to (Spotify’s) Premium plan or a corresponding reduction in the revenue that Spotify generates.”
He Spotify’s attempt to reduce its mechanical royalties has resulted in a clear breach of its obligations,” the lawsuit says.
He MLC asked the court for an unspecified amount of monetary damages for Spotify’s alleged unpaid royalties and delays.
Source: Ambito
I am an author and journalist who has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade. I currently work as a news editor at a major news website, and my focus is on covering the latest trends in entertainment. I also write occasional pieces for other outlets, and have authored two books about the entertainment industry.
