A major legal case is kicking off in the United States between two successful members of the global music rights industry, MBW can reveal.
New York-based publisher Round Hill Music is suing DIY distributor TuneCore and its parent Believe, alleging that the latter two companies “reproduced and distributed musical compositions owned or controlled by Round Hill… despite knowing that [these] compositions were never properly licensed”.
Round Hill is being represented in the lawsuit by Richard Busch (yes, that Richard Busch) of King & Ballow and James Thayer of Gordon, Gordon & Schnapp.
Round Hill’s suit further claims that is has not been “properly paid” by the defendants for the use of its compositions, and that it has provided notice to Believe on “multiple occasions” via its agent, Audiam, that these songs were unlicensed.
The lawsuit, filed Friday (July 31) at the Eastern District of New York Court, alleges that TuneCore and Believe are “directly liable for copyright infringement, contributory copyright infringement, and vicarious copyright infringement based on the reproduction and distribution of the Round Hill Compositions to third parties without a license”.
At the heart of Round Hill’s claim is the suggestion that Believe distributed recordings of 219 musical compositions owned by Round Hill to digital services such as iTunes without the required licenses.
In addition to legal fees, Round Hill is requesting that Believe pay $150,000 – the maximum amount for wilful statutory damages in the US – for each of the of the compositions infringed. Those 219 musical compositions therefore render the lawsuit as a $32.85m claim for damages.
“Defendants have failed to account to or pay to Round Hill the mechanical royalties to which it would have been entitled had Defendants secured licenses for: 1) the reproduction and/or distribution of the Round Hill Compositions to Third-Party Companies; 2) the reproduction and/or distribution to third parties by Third-Party Companies at Defendants’ direction; and (3) the reproduction and/or distribution of the Round Hill Compositions on their own servers with server copies.”
Round Hill lawsuit
The songs contained within the batch of 219 compositions which Round Hill says have been infringed include I Saw Her Standing There and She Loves You by Paul McCartney and John Lennon, in addition to songs written by Ted Nugent, Craig Wiseman, Rodney Clawson, The Offspring’s Bryan ‘Dexter’ Holland, The Smeezingtons’ Ari Levine (including Bruno Mars’ Just The Way You Are) and Florida Georgia Line.
Continues the lawsuit: “Defendants have failed to account to or pay to Round Hill the mechanical royalties to which it would have been entitled had Defendants secured licenses for: 1) the reproduction and/or distribution of the Round Hill Compositions to Third-Party Companies; 2) the reproduction and/or distribution to third parties by Third-Party Companies at Defendants’ direction; and (3) the reproduction and/or distribution of the Round Hill Compositions on their own servers with server copies.”
Paris-headquartered Believe acquired New York-based TuneCore in 2015 for a pricetag believed to be in the region of $40m.
Believe claimed last month that it now distributes more than a third of the globe’s digital music in volume terms.
Round Hill’s lawsuit alleges: “TuneCore received an initial payment and annual recurring payment from its clients to distribute, reproduce, and collect income derived from the sale of the Round Hill Compositions embodied on infringing sound recordings. In addition, TuneCore gains additional financial value in the form of “market share” of their user base and sale of the Round Hill Compositions embodied on the infringing sound recordings to drive financial valuation and negotiate with the music services for more favorable terms used to acquire more customers.”
Another section of the suit, which you can read in full through here, says: “Moreover, beyond failing to properly license Round Hill Compositions, Defendants have not properly paid for the corresponding uses. Namely, Defendants have failed to account to or pay to Round Hill the mechanical royalties to which it would have been entitled had Defendants secured licenses for: 1) the reproduction and/or distribution of the Round Hill Compositions to Third-Party Companies; 2) the reproduction and/or distribution to third parties by Third-Party Companies at Defendants’ direction; and (3) the reproduction and/or distribution of the Round Hill Compositions on their own servers with server copies.”
MBW has asked Believe for comment.
Richard Busch of King & Ballow told MBW: “We have nothing to add other than what is said in our very detailed Complaint.”Music Business Worldwide
