Eminem's Publisher Sues Apple for Unauthorized Music Sales

[MacBytes]

Category: News and Press Releases
Link: Eminem sues Apple for iTunes sales
Description:: none

Posted on MacBytes.com
Approved by Mudbug

[bartelby]

I'd have thought Universal would have owned the publishing rights as they are his label.

[iSaint]

Originally Posted by bartelby

I'd have thought Universal would have owned the publishing rights as they are his label.

I think it says as much. Poor, poor artists...all that talent and no sense to run their business.

[Markleshark]

I don't understand this.

"Hi, we're going to give you lots of money to sell your product in shop A and B instead of just shop B."

"No"

"Sorry, what now?"

[iBlue]

it seems pretty stupid but
it's mostly because of

Music industry observers believe more such litigation will emerge in future, as artists and composers fight to take a bigger slice of the money earned by music downloads.

One unresolved matter is that of whether a record label also has the rights to authorize music downloads or whether such rights belong to music publishers.

translation: greed. <- shocker. the music industry is full of arguments over who is owed what.

I thought this was odd though:

Eminem's management previously sued Apple in 2004 over the use of Eminem song Lose Yourself in an iTunes TV ad. The ad was never actually aired.

Yes it was aired. I had seen it several times.

[dukeblue91]

The whole music industry makes less and less sense every day.

[fistful]

Originally Posted by iBlue

I thought this was odd though:

Yes it was aired. I had seen it several times.

Are you thinking of the one Eminem is actually in or the one that just featured the song "Lose Yourself"? I know I've seen both but I'm not sure if the one in question was aired on television or if I just saw it online.

[Small White Car]

Originally Posted by Markleshark

I don't understand this.

"Hi, we're going to give you lots of money to sell your product in shop A and B instead of just shop B."

"No"

"Sorry, what now?"

Uh, if he wins this then he gets to keep ALL the online sales money instead of sharing it with the label.

So really it goes like this:

"Hi, do you want to keep all the money your songs make online or do you want to share it with another company?"

And you'd pick, "share" as your answer? is right.

I think it'd be pretty cool if he does win. Wouldn't it be nice if artists could all just put their music right on iTunes and get a check each month? Without a middle-man?

[age234]

How else can I afford another solid gold Humvee?
And diamond-studded swimming pools, these things don't grow on trees
So all I ask is everybody please...
Don't download this song!

[mozmac]

Originally Posted by Markleshark

I don't understand this.

"Hi, we're going to give you lots of money to sell your product in shop A and B instead of just shop B."

"No"

"Sorry, what now?"

"You see, I'm a musician. I don't enjoy making money and would appreciate it if you would stop forcing me to."

NOFX is notorious for not wanting their music played on the radio as they don't want to be too popular. They're in it more for the fun and entertainment than money...or so they say.

[MacRumors]

Detroit News reports that Eminem's music publisher has filed a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against Apple for unauthorized music sales through the iTunes Store.

According to the article, the main issue appears to be a contractual one, questioning the right of record labels to also sell recording artist's music digitally as well as on CD.

A "burning issue" in the music industry today is whether the rights record labels hold to sell a recording artist's CDs include the rights to authorize music downloads, or whether further permission is needed from the music publishers who hold the copyrights to the lyrics and sheet music.

Apple sells individual songs for 99 cents and gives 70 cents back to the recording label (in this case, Universal). Out of that $.70, Universal pays about 9.1 cents to the music publisher. Eminem's music publisher states that they have never authorized Universal to allow the downloads and have demanded that Apple cease and desist online distribution of their music. Apple has reportedly refused.


Article Link

[Porchland]

Originally Posted by Macrumors

According to the article, the main issue appears to be a contractual one, questioning the right of record labels to also sell recording artist's music digitally as well as on CD.

That's not what the article says. The article says that label rights is a "'burning issue' in the music industry" today." This case does not sound like a contractual dispute at all, though Apple's defense will likely be that it contracted with the entity (Universal) that controlled the rights.

I haven't read the complaint so I don't know what Eminem's publisher is alleging, but it doesn't sound contractual at all. That would be a dispute between Eminem/Eight Mile and Universal.

My guess is that this is a straight-up infringement case.

[CJD2112]

Well, I guess when your career is tanking, sue. lol

[kalisphoenix]

Originally Posted by CJD2112

Well, I guess when your career is tanking, sue. lol

The last album he released was a greatest hits album, two years ago, that sold over two and a half million copies in the US alone. Since then he's said he was taking a break, hence the name of the greatest hits album being Curtain Call.

If that's tanking, you have no idea how many musicians would cheerfully stand in line to perform fellatio on Satan to have their careers tank like that.

LOL indeed. LOL, LOL, and thrice LOL.

[f1sh3r]

Originally Posted by kalisphoenix

The last album he released was a greatest hits album, two years ago, that sold over two and a half million copies in the US alone. Since then he's said he was taking a break, hence the name of the greatest hits album being Curtain Call.

If that's tanking, you have no idea how many musicians would cheerfully stand in line to perform fellatio on Satan to have their careers tank like that.

LOL indeed. LOL, LOL, and thrice LOL.

i can understand. an artist puts out a bunch of albums with 1 or 2 "hits" and a bunch of filler. people hum along, but don't buy the cds. then he/she puts out a greatest hits cd, and people buy it up. rabid fans use this as proof the artist is selling crazy mad amounts of LOL albums. or something.

works for me. still a stupid lawsuit.

[kalisphoenix]

Originally Posted by f1sh3r

i can understand. an artist puts out a bunch of albums with 1 or 2 "hits" and a bunch of filler. people hum along, but don't buy the cds. then he/she puts out a greatest hits cd, and people buy it up. rabid fans use this as proof the artist is selling crazy mad amounts of LOL albums. or something.

works for me. still a stupid lawsuit.

Actually, his greatest hits album sold fewer copies than anything but his first and second albums, which were an independent release (400 copies) and an EP demo. His best-selling album is diamond-certified and topped Britney Spears' record for most sales in one week, at over 1.75 million copies. So it's not like his albums languished in the dustbin while people hummed along to the radio. He's not like My Bloody Valentine or Talk Talk, artists recognized as putting out albums of near or total genius despite pathetically weak sales.

I'm not a fan of Eminem, or hip-hop in general. I listen to classic rock, post-rock, grunge, shoegaze, punk from its glory days, stuff like that. Pretty straight rocker. I'm not a rabid fan -- in fact, I had to go to Wikipedia to state the information I've given

But if someone says Eminem's career is tanking, I doubt it is. He said himself he's taking a break, and his last album has sold seven million copies worldwide. That's not tanking.

Then you come and say none of his albums ever sold that many copies, and I point out that he's sold tens of millions of albums.

Saying this doesn't make me a rabid fan. It just means I have a grasp on reality that you seem to lack out of pure intellectual laziness. I see something interesting, I try to learn more about it. It's in my nature

[destroyboredom]

I dislike the music industry as much as the next guy, however in their defense. If Eminem wants more profits from his music, don't sign with a label. Pay his recording,distro costs out of pocket. I'm not sure how much it costs a label to put out a typical cd, but lets face it, there is expenses involved in recording, distributing, promoting a cd that the artists don't pay for out of pocket...the label does.

[Jovian9]

Hopefully he doesn't win any kind of lawsuit...........

but a lot of good could come from this; specifically his music being pulled from iTunes....which would be awesome as that ^&%$ doesn't deserve the $ it probably makes via Apple

[Gasu E.]

It seems to me that Eminem is doing Apple a big favor. Apple is operating in a state of legal ambiguity as to whether they can legally acquire download rights from the record labels. If Apple wins, the ambiguity is resolved. If Eminem wins, Apple no longer has to deal with the (large, powerful, oligarchic) record labels and can deal directly with the recording artists.

Either way, Apple wins.

[gifford]

I wish Mars would sue him for trademark infringement.

[studiomusic]

Originally Posted by gifford

I wish Mars would sue him for trademark infringement.

They did, he won.

[Trooperof3]

WAIT! hold the phone, why is it Apple's fault anyway?? Shouldn't he be suing Universal? There the ones that put his music there.

[johnee]

wow, lots of evil venom in this thread, i love it!

anyway, after seeing how things are going in the digital music age, I have very recently begun to support independent music :

1) a few less middlemen, and traditionally people in the independent markets have more than $$ on their mind, but not necessarily always.
2) going to local shows supporting musicians on their way up if I like what i've heard about them
3) buying CDs directly from the bands/artists themselves.
4) on par with #3, I've actually found AMAZING music from street musicians who have CDs. Sometimes the quality engineering isn't there, but I do like making the personal connection.

[logandzwon]

Hope he wins! More music will go DRM-less quicker till publisher have to be DRM-less to compete.

[EagerDragon]

Sounds like bull crap. If the label is authorizing Apple, then it is a label artist issue, Apple should not be mentioned.

If the Artist have the ability to demostrate that the label does not have the right to contract with Apple then Apple will comply. He is just blowing smoke and trying to say the current contract does not cover digital rights. Apple is not going to stop over a baseless claim, show the contract or get a court rulling them come back and we will stop.