back to article Music royalty war spreads to aggregator MediaNet

Singer-songwriter Aimee Man has become the latest recording artist to take aim at the coupon-clippers and parasites of Internet music distribution, hauling a little-known intermediary into court for distributing her work without a license. Unlike the retail names savaged by the likes of Radiohead's Thom Yorke (who pulled his …

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  1. Jamie Jones Silver badge

    Good luck to her if it's true... BUT...

    $18 over 2 years? I've never even heard of her.

    If this figure is accurate, it's going to help provide amminition to the 'musicians are payed too much' crowd.

    1. Woza
      Headmaster

      Re: Good luck to her if it's true... BUT...

      As I read the article the period of infringement would be 8 years, not 2 - from the time the licence was terminated in 2005 to the present day (assuming they didn't stop earlier - I didn't see any mention of such).

      $18 million is still a lot, though.

      1. Flocke Kroes Silver badge

        Most famous gig ...

        Aimee Mann played at the Bronze in episode 8 of season 7 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

        $18 million is not a royalty payment because people bought her music. It is a damages figure for deliberate commercial distribution without a license. Normally I would say such figures are insane, but the accused is a part of the recording industry that lobbied for this scale of damages, so they must feel it is appropriate.

        1. Don Jefe
          Thumb Up

          Re: Most famous gig ...

          That's a really good point. It will be interesting to see what arguments the industry uses to try and scale the damages back.

        2. Jamie Jones Silver badge

          Re: Most famous gig ...

          "$18 million is not a royalty payment because people bought her music. It is a damages figure for deliberate commercial distribution without a license. Normally I would say such figures are insane, but the accused is a part of the recording industry that lobbied for this scale of damages, sothey must feel it is appropriate."

          2 good points! Cheers!

          1. VinceH

            Re: Most famous gig ...

            "2 good points! Cheers!"

            Yeah. When reading the article, my immediate thought was the maths: $18M for 120 songs over 8 years is $18,750 per song per year, which is taking the piddle. But, yeah, given who the accused is, it's a fair cop.

            Meanwhile, from the article:

            "recorded with the bad Till Tuesday"

            I take it that means they aren't a good band, then?

            1. This post has been deleted by its author

        3. Hollerith 1

          Re: Most famous gig ...

          Touched by Buffy...immortal.

      2. Jamie Jones Silver badge

        Re: Good luck to her if it's true... BUT...

        "As I read the article the period of infringement would be 8 years, not 2"

        Arrrgh - total brain-fart! Of course, you are right!

        For some reason I went by the amount of time she was signed to them (duuuuuur)

    2. Tom 35

      Re: Good luck to her if it's true... BUT...

      Googled "best-known work" and I've heard better at the local bar on a Wednesday night.

      I think your right, $18 is about right.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        @Tom 35

        "Googled "best-known work" and I've heard better at the local bar on a Wednesday night. I think your right, $18 is about right."

        But if you liked the song, then $18 million would be okay?

        1. Tom 35

          Re: @Tom 35

          The $18 was poking fun at the original poster.

          But this is a civil suit, the idea that someone who is at best a moderately successful artist lost $18 million between what they paid her, and what she thinks she would have received if they had not keep selling her catalogue seems silly/unlikely. Just because the record label have been able to stick a ludicrous value on an MP3 is no reason for this.

          Could she even cancel the contract? Did she sign a 20 year contract and then wish she didn't but they said too bad? Why would they keep selling the catalogue if the contract was cancelled?

          If millions of people liked the song, and she was able to cancel the deal 8 years ago and they keep selling it, then maybe $18 million would be ok.

          1. Jamie Jones Silver badge
            Happy

            Re: @Tom 35

            "The $18 was poking fun at the original poster."

            ... which was me - and I was the only one that upvoted you! Some people have no sense of humour!

      2. Jamie Jones Silver badge

        Re: Good luck to her if it's true... BUT...

        @Tom 35:

        "I think your right, $18 is about right."

        LOL - oops, I messed that up!

  2. Michael Wojcik Silver badge

    Hey, does anyone remember fact-checking?

    MediaNet may have been caught with its hand in the till, so to speak, but Mann wasn't. Her band was named 'Til Tuesday, not "Till Tuesday", which would be a rather different thing. That's "'til", as in a contraction of "until".

    Besides her work in 'Til Tuesday, Mann's received considerable critical praise for her solo albums (I'm With Stupid, etc) and her soundtrack for the film Magnolia was nominated for an Academy Award and a Grammy. But of course if noted musicologist Tom 35 doesn't like one of her songs, her work must be rubbish.

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