On Tueday, Spotify settled settled a class-action copyright lawsuit for more than $112.55 million which includes an immediate cash payment of $43.55 million. The lawsuit was brought about by musicians David Lowery of Camper Van Beethoven and Melissa Ferrick, who alleged that Spotify didn’t fulfill payment for compulsory licenses of their compositions. In 2017, it was reported that Spotify put forth $43 million to compensate affected songwriters and publishers. However,it appears that settlement has gotten larger.
After news of the settlement was made public, Wixen Publishing Group issued a court filing on behalf of its artists(which include Tom Petty, Dan Auerbach, and Kim Gordon) calling the settlement “a practical free pass on willful infringement,” but the judge overruled Wixen’s objections . Wixen filed a $1.6 billion lawsuit against Spotify earlier this year.
U.S. District Court Judge Alison Nathan wrote in her opinion,“The combination of the immediate and future monetary relief, along with the non-monetary benefits provided, constitutes a significant recovery. Ultimately, the Court is persuaded that determining how many infringements occurred or defining the exact size of the class at this stage would undermine the benefit of the settlement in reducing litigation burden. As noted, if Plaintiffs proceeded with litigation, it is far from clear that they would have been able to establish liability or damages—or damages as significant as the recovery established in the settlement.”
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