Re:Spotify Hit with $150M Class Action Over Unpaid Royalties
by dpkp on Tuesday December 29, 2015 @06:34PM
(#10809787)
Labels deal in sound recordings, which have historically been licensed independently of the underlying music compositions. Most distributors like Spotify will obtain separate licensing for compositions, whether from collecting societies like ASCAP, BMI, or SESAC, and/or through direct deals with artist / publishers themselves.
This setup may seem odd, but but it has historically been used to provide some protection against labels "screwing" artists - b/c although a label takes the sound recording rights and therefore controls royalty payments back to artists for the recording [if any -- after recoupment, etc], the artist typically retains their own publishing rights and can license those separately for $$ not subject to their label deal (though subject to cuts from societies, and their individual deals with publishers etc). This opens up new revenue streams for artists to get paid outside the control of their label: by radio stations/bars/restaurants via PROs, or in sync-right deals for placement in movies or on TV.
If i am right about that, then the record label that provided the music would be at fault. As they sold material that they did not have the rights to sell.
I guess you could find them at fault as they are not verifying what they are getting. But that would not be a civil case.