MONEY

Spotify sued for at least $150 million

Nate Rau
USA TODAY NETWORK - Tennessee
Spotify

Spotify was sued by alternative rocker David Lowery in federal court on Monday for not properly identifying and paying some copyright owners.

Lowery, founding member of the bands Cracker and Camper Van Beethoven and current professor of music business at the University of Georgia, is seeking class action status that would allow other copyright holders to join the suit. His suit alleges that songwriters and artists whose music was used without permission are entitled to recover revenue and proceeds estimated to be at least $150 million.

Unlike Pandora, Spotify must get permission from copyright holders to offer a song on its streaming service, which is available for free with commercials or for a subscription of $10 per month. Some prominent artists, like Taylor Swift and Jason Aldean, have withheld their music from Spotify, while others, like Adele, offer singles but withhold their entire album.

But the service is supposed to identify songwriters, publishers, artists, and labels and pay them royalties commiserate with how many times their songs were played on the service.

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Critics say Spotify cannibalizes traditional music sales, like MP3 downloads, CDs and vinyl records, because the royalty payouts are substantially less from the streaming service. But supporters say Spotify is at the center of a new music economy that puts a wide range of music - more than 75 million songs - within the instantaneous reach of fans.

Lowery offered four examples of unlicensed compositions songs that Spotify didn't pay him for - "Almond Grove," "Get on Down the Road," "King of Bakersfield" and "Tonight I Cross the Border."

"Spotify’s unlawful reproduction and/or distribution of (Lowery's) and class members’ copyrighted works has substantially harmed and continues to harm plaintiff and the class members," the lawsuit alleges.

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Lowery's suit comes while Spotify has been in the spotlight for positive reasons with the Christmas Eve release of the Beatles' entire catalog. Supporters point to that move as proof that Spotify is an entrenched music service. The company has paid more than $3 billion in U.S. royalties since its launch seven years ago.

Reach Nate Rau at 615-259-8094 and on Twitter @tnnaterau.

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