GMR Sues Entravision For Non-Payment

Global Music Rights, which represents artists such as Drake and Bruce Springsteen, is suing radio station owner Entravision Communications Corp., alleging that the company played its songs without paying songwriters, reports The LATimes.

Entravision has played more than 130 of Global Music Rights’ songs a total of more than 10,000 times over the last couple of years, according to the lawsuit, which was filed Thursday in federal court in Los Angeles. The most played songs include Steve Miller Band’s “Fly Like an Eagle,” Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” and Pearl Jam’s “Black.” Global Music Rights is seeking $150,000 for each infringement, the maximum allowed, for a total of more than $1.5 billion in damages.

The Santa Monica-based company has three radio stations in Los Angeles — Spanish-language outlets KDLD-FM (103.1) Super Estrella, KLYY-FM (97.5/107.1) Jose and KSSE-FM (107.1) La Suavecita — as well as about 45 other radio stations and 55 local television stations nationwide.

Top songwriters such as Miller, Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder and Drake signed with Global Music Rights, believing that the organization would help them secure a better rate from radio stations, restaurants and other groups that pay what’s called a performance royalty.

Songwriters rely on radio as a primary source of earnings, especially in the streaming age. Recording artists collect the lion’s share of revenue from streaming services Spotify and Apple Music, a source of great consternation among songwriters and two types of organizations that represent them: music publishers and performing-rights organizations.

ASCAP and BMI, the two largest performing-rights organizations, are limited in their ability to fight for more. They collect royalties at a rate governed by decades-old federal statute. Global Music Rights isn’t under the same limitations.

Music manager Irving Azoff founded Global Music Rights to try to raise the rates paid to songwriters. Azoff — who manages Gwen Stefani, Harry Styles and Bon Jovi — started the Los Angeles-based company in 2013 with Randy Grimmett, who previously worked at ASCAP.

Radio stations have balked at the terms sought by Global Music Rights, prompting lawsuits between Global Music Rights and the Radio Music Licensing Committee, a body that represents U.S. radio stations. Their trial is set to go to court in Los Angeles next fall.