Eminem and Pals are S.O.L. When It Comes to Song Royalties

Jess Harvell | March 9, 2009 11:00 am

As you may recall, F.B.T. Productions, the company which handles Mr. Marshall Mathers’ still profitable back catalog, recently went to court with Universal Music Group over digital royalties. F.B.T. claimed that the ability to mass produce digital copies from a single download meant that F.B.T. were entitled to a larger royalty rate for a song sold online than what they’re currently getting. Like…up to 50 percent. But F.B.T., Eminem, and UMG’s other artistes can apparently go kick rocks according to a Los Angeles jury, which decided the claims were bunk.

The jury sided with the music company’s interpretation that a song purchased online is no different from one bought in a store. “It’s saying that the digital download is the modern version of a record sale,” said music attorney Fred Davis, founder of law firm Davis, Shapiro, Lewit, Montone & Hayes in New York, who was not involved in the lawsuit. “And the economics to the artist are the same for a digital download as they were for the sale of a single, back in the glory years.” Davis said the ruling would have had enormous implications if it had favored [F.B.T.], because it would have forced an already struggling music industry to share a much higher percentage of proceeds from sales with artists.

Heaven forefend! Naturally those scrappy freedom fighters at F.B.T. claim their battle for equitable royalty rates (via a possibly dubious line of argument) isn’t over just yet, while the suits at Universal are investing in more goat’s blood and wormwood for the next time they need a solid from the dark lord. “Eminem was not a party to the suit,” because he’s already rich and/or crazy.

Universal Music wins Eminem song royalty lawsuit [LA Times]

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