RIAA Keeps Settlement Money, Artists May Sue
Written by enigmax on February 28, 2008Despite collecting an estimated several hundred million dollars in P2P related settlements from the likes of Napster, KaZaA and Bolt, prominent artists’ managers are complaining that so far, they haven’t received any compensation from the labels. According to a lawyer, some are considering legal action.
When EMI, Universal Music and Warner music reached settlement agreements with the likes of Napster, KaZaA and Bolt, they collected hundreds of millions of dollars in compensation - money that was supposed to go to artists whose rights had been allegedly infringed upon when the networks were operating with unlicensed music.
Now, according to an article, the managers of some major artists are getting very impatient, as it appears the very people who were supposed to be compensated - the artists - haven’t received anything from the massive settlements. They say the cash - estimated to be as much as $400m - hasn’t filtered through to their clients and understandably they’re getting very impatient.
Lawyer John Branca, who has represented the likes of The Rolling Stones and Korn, said: “Artist managers and lawyers have been wondering for months when their artists will see money from the copyright settlements and how it will be accounted for.”
Indicating the levels of impatience with the big labels holding the money he added: “Some of them are even talking about filing lawsuits if they don’t get paid soon.”
Of course, EMI, Universal and Warner have a different take on the delay, with sources suggesting that it’s down to the difficulties in deciding who gets what money, based on the levels of copyright infringement for each individual group or artist.
A recording industry on the back foot having spent most of its time fighting the digital revolution rather than becoming part of it, is clearly trying to hang on to every penny, even when it comes to compensating the artists who they claim they were defending by taking legal action in the first place.
Irving Azoff, who manages Christina Aguilera, The Eagles, Van Halen, REO Speedwagon and Seal (amongst others) says it’s hard for artists to get what they deserve from the labels: “They will play hide and seek, but eventually will be forced to pay something,” he said. “The record companies have even tried to credit unrecouped accounts. It’s never easy for an artist to get paid their fair share.”
Typically, the labels see it a different way. An EMI spokeperson said that it was “sharing proceeds from the Napster and Kazaa settlements with artists and writers whose work was infringed upon” while Warner’s said the label is “sharing the Napster settlement with its recording artists and songwriters, and at this stage nearly all settlement monies have been disbursed.”
The Universal spokesman spoke only of the label’s ‘policy’ of sharing “its portion of various settlements with its artists, regardless of whether their contracts require it” with no mention of whether it had actually done this or not.
But typically, when money is involved, things start to get murky. The same sources who suggested the reasons for the delay in making payments are also suggesting that there might not be much money to even give to the artists.
It’s being claimed that after legal bills were subtracted from the hundreds of millions in settlements, there wasn’t much left over to hand out.
Previously: Swedish Record Labels See Filesharing as Virtue
Next: Cashing In on Naive BitTorrent Users
127 Responses (Add yours or TrackBack)
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lol. The music industry and the RIAA in particular are the greediest bastards ever to walk the face of this good earth. They never fail to surprise me.
“We don’t need no water let the motherfucker burn …. BURN MOTHERFUCKER”
I am not sure that RIAA can firmly make control over it in near future
I wonder what would happen if you had a bunch of scammers sending out fake settlement letters for artists and collecting for themselves? Because this doesn’t sound much different from what the RIAA is doing.
auspiciously attested sickle councils melodrama!thoughtfulness?escorts?
it was a scam and now that lady should use this and counter sue RIAA.
We didn’t really believe it was about the artists, now did we?
All the more reason for the RIAA to die.
When can we all have a system where we can pay the artists directly!
Sound like these Domestic Terrorists need to be closed with , engaged, and destroyed. What is the difference between the RIAA and the Mafia? Nothing a Marine sniper couldn’t fix
I’ve dropped any artist that is associated with the RIAA. I only get my music from underground sources or http://www.archive.org
yes. and before you buy anything check http://riaaradar.com ftw
yes! and before you buy anything check http://riaaradar ftw
I wouldnt mind paying for the music if all the money went to the artist instead all those middle men.
it’s a little amusing (in a scary kind of way) that RIAA is very quick to place and tag a $$ value to individual copyright transgressions when making a case to get the money and screw the little man, but suddenly all that good math breaks down when splitting up the proceeds…
Hmm…
It’s tough to shed a tear when wealthy mainstream artists are complaining that the record labels aren’t giving them a slice of a laughably excessive $400 million dollar filesharing damage settlement, isn’t it?
But it’s real easy to point and laugh: one camp of greedy sleazeballs turning on another camp of greedy sleazeballs because they can’t agree on how to divvy up the extortion money.
Godspeed, you corrupt ouroboros.
Fuck all those assholes. The sooner bands figure out a better way to get paid than going through shithead record labels and riaa the better.
“suggesting that it’s down to the difficulties in deciding who gets what money, based on the levels of copyright infringement for each individual group or artist.”
Isn’t that the same calculation used for the amount they wanted ?
So who is stealing from the artists now??
First they sue cos the users are stealing from the artists and now they have the money they keep it, so in fact stealing it from the ppl they ‘represent’..
Fucking criminals, the lot of them.
The biggest problem with capitalism is this example. It’s ok to be a criminal as long as you have plenty of money.
Ah again as usual big business in screwing the small guy first sue the broke guy then screw the small guy and always the big business screws the bands as well as the fans. Folks don’t you understand this game has always been about money train. if there is ever a shread of anything free in this world Illuminati bankers want a peace of the action. they lend money to RIAA then RIAA is now the slave to banksters Illuminati.
Look at water it was free now they bottle it for a dollar a pint. To regulate how people share music is the goofiest thing I ever hears of. These people are lucky to sell cd’s its not like its something anyone needs in life. Go ahead sue RIAA you will get nothing from me as I would rather never listen to a piece of music again then put one red cent in your pocket.
As for the rest of this world watch out as we lose our rights and more recourses to the greedy likes of media that is bought and paid for by the Illuminati that also own the worlds banks and energy companies and all of global corp earth. Banks lend to them making them servants to their lender! RIAA is just another corp bitch belonging to the banks!
want a link on the global truth go moneymasters.com . The RIAA is an attempt to squeeze more money out of the public as usual. RIAA true colors are now public knowledge! Now you see who they really are. Thieves
ummm… who does the riaa work for? the artis. they’re just doing their dirty work. i know they’re bastards and all, but i think the same amount of hate should be directed at the source. if the artists wanted to change riaa’s policies or close them down they could do so easily but they don’t. i don’t see why they want anything to do with this “dirty” money at all, a lot of it has forcibly been collected from poor students and families.
This just goes to show that the fn RIAA doesn’t give a sh*t about protecting the artists’ interests. It’s all about ensuring they have a place, they keep their monopoly, lining their pockets, and continuing to prevent the artists and the consumers from existing with out them.
F those greedy RIAA/CRIA/MPAA bastards!
That’s what those cock sucking rock stars get for priding in those pieces of shit. Fuck it, it just continues to prove that these people who point the finger at sites like tpb and OiNK (rip) saying they’re not in it for the love of music and art, that they’re in it for the money are incredible hypocrites when they say they’re representing artists whose rights have been infringed upon.
fuckin’ RIAA motherfuckers.
look…everyone here knows their business model is dead. this is just one of the last gasps these cunts will heave before they die altogether.
only thing now is to convince anyone who loves music that the corporate music business model (lots of hype for artists, lots of money, fame, etc… just like you see with diddy on that stupid MTV show where he treats white people like shit)has been dead for a long time and not to continue to propagate this by buying downloads. fuck…music is free.
the musicians will make money touring from now on. music is free.
[quote comment="300320"]ummm… who does the riaa work for? the artists. they’re just doing their dirty work. i know they’re bastards and all, but i think the same amount of hate should be directed at the source. if the artists wanted to change riaa’s policies or close them down they could do so easily but they don’t. i don’t see why they want anything to do with this “dirty” money at all, a lot of it has forcibly been collected from poor students and families.[/quote]
Sorry, you’re wrong. The RIAA does NOT work for or represent artists. They work for and represent the major recording labels. RIAA likes to claim that they’re working for the rights of the artists but that’s total bullshit. They were created and are funded solely by the record labels.
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