Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Eminem Wins Appeal In Royalty Lawsuit

Eminem Wins Appeal In Royalty LawsuitA federal appeal may quadruple the amount Eminem and others receive for music licensed to iTunes and other digital distributors.
A federal appeals court has ruled in favor of Eminem's former production company in a 2009 suit filed against Aftermath Records and Universal Music Group. The original suit, filed in 2004, called for an increased royalty share of the alleged $2.5 million Eminem's digital downloads made between 2003 and 2008.



Friday, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Eminem and F.B.T. Productions were entitled to a 50-50 split with Universal for all recordings licensed to digital distributors such as iTunes. Various sources report UMG previously paid Eminem and F.B.T. a 12 percent royalty rate for music licensed to digital distributors, which is the agreed-upon rate for physical albums.

Should appeal stand, it likely marks a landmark victory for artists whose music is licensed to via ringtones, iTunes and other digital distributors.

No comments:

Post a Comment