Spotify doesn’t have to pay huge unpaid royalties (about $40 million) EminemDespite failing to secure the proper license to host his songs, a federal judge in Tennessee ruled. Completing a high level case of copyright infringement that could go Supreme Court, the judge accepted Spotify’s claim the collector of those royalties, Kobalt Music Group, and not the streaming service, would be responsible for paying any royalties the court deemed outstanding.
The judge suggested that Eight Mile Style LLC, the publisher that filed the lawsuit in 2019, remained silent about licensing rights in a “strategic” attempt to obtain copyright infringement payments from Spotify rather than address the issue when it became apparent. inconsistencies.
“Although Spotify’s handling of the songwriters’ copyright issues was seriously flawed, any right to recover damages based on those flaws belongs to the innocent rights owners who were actually harmed,” wrote Judge Aleta A. Trauger, in his opinion, “not those who. Like Eight Mile Style had every opportunity to get things right and just decided not to for no apparent reason other than being a victim of infringement pays better than being a regular licensor.”
The judge’s ruling, released Aug. 15, said Bridgeport Music, which owns Eight Mile Style, obtained the relevant license in 2009, meaning that despite Cobalt’s responsibility to collect the royalties, the agency had no legal right to license the songs to the U.S. and in Canada.
When reached by Pitchfork, representatives for Eminem, who is not officially involved in the case, offered no comment. Pitchfork also emailed attorneys and representatives for Spotify, as well as attorneys for Eight Mile Style LLC and Kobalt Music Group for comment.