On Wednesday, the three largest record companies — Sony,
Universal and Warner, along with ABKCO, an independent that controls many of
the Rolling Stones’ early music rights — sued Sirius XM Radio in a California
court, saying that the satellite service used recordings from before 1972
without permission, according to the NY Times.
Even though federal copyright protection does not apply to
these recordings, the suits say that they are still covered by state law.
The suit is the third major complaint filed against Sirius
XM in five weeks. The band the Turtles — whose song “Happy Together” was a No.
1 hit in 1967 — and the royalty agency SoundExchange filed similar suits last
month, each seeking as much as $100 million in damages. The suit filed on
Wednesday, in Los Angeles Superior Court, seeks unspecified damages and a
declaratory judgment about the rights involved in pre-1972 recordings.
“It is disgraceful, unfair, and probably criminal that
Sirius XM is stealing monies due to me and other performing artists,” the
singer Judy Collins said in a statement. “Performers should be paid their fair
share of the royalties from their songs.”
Among other artists mentioned in the suit are the Beatles,
the Rolling Stones, Frank Sinatra and the Supremes.
A spokesman for Sirius XM declined to comment.
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