Former Turtles members Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan, also known as Flo and Eddie, are suing satellite service SiriusXM for $100 million.
At issue is every recording made before February 15, 1972 including those that they made as the Turtles.
The lawsuit revolves around California Civil Code Section 980 (a)(2) which says “the author of an original work of authorship consisting of sound recording initially fixed prior to February 15, 1972, has an exclusive ownership therein until February 15, 2047…” As Volman and Kaylan own the Turtles recordings and have not granted permission to SiriusXM to broadcast the records, they are alleging that they are owed money for those “performances” including damages.
The suit is being brought as a class action with “misappropriations” of recording made prior to the 1972 date as in the millions wronging thousands of artists. The legal team states that the total damages of over $100 million will be proved at trial.
There are questions about how far this case can go and how the outcome will affect not only SiriusXM’s ability to play a wide range of music but also other non-traditional venues. Basing the case on California law could be superseded by federal laws as SiriusXM provides service throughout the country. In addition, if the suit were successful, does that mean another revenue stream for the artists and costs for such services as Pandora, Last.fm, Rhapsody, etc?
Read more: http://www.vintagevinylnews.com/#ixzz2arTEMdBC”>VVN Music
Stay updated with your free Noise11 daily music newsletter. Subscribe to Noise11 Music News here
