Slim Shady Loses Case to Universal
Los Angeles Times:
A federal jury in Los Angeles ruled Friday that Eminem’s music royalties don’t change just because a song has been sold online.
The decision prevents, at least for now, an upending of the music industry that could have greatly changed the financial relationship between record labels and artists, in which labels have long commanded most of the proceeds from album sales.
The Detroit music producers who were involved in the rapper’s early works, including his 1999 Grammy-winning album, “The Slim Shady LP,” sued Universal Music Group’s Interscope Records, accusing the music label of shortchanging them on royalty payments for music downloads and cellphone ring tones.
Mark and Jeff Bass, brothers who own F.B.T. Productions, said their contract entitled them to 50% of the proceeds for songs sold through online stores including Apple Inc.’s iTunes or by cellphone operators like Sprint.
They argued that the songs Universal provided to online and mobile services amounted to music “masters,” from which infinite digital copies could be produced. As such, F.B.T. said it was entitled to a higher royalty rate than the 12% they would otherwise receive on the sale of a song or music CD. To continue reading the Article @ LA Times (Click Here)
