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back to article Mechanical black hole: Microsoft settles music royalties sueball

Microsoft has quietly settled a lawsuit over unpaid music royalties with a drummer and his band’s music publisher. It’s a small but significant settlement: the pair are also suing Google, Deezer and Jay Z’s Tidal for the same reason, and the issue is also at the heart of two class action lawsuits against Spotify. All the …

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  1. edge_e
    Unhappy

    Meet the new boss

    Same as the old boss

    1 0 Reply
  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I wonder if this is another example of someone distributing music on the basis of authorisation from one of the major music labels, only to discover (when sued) that the label had no current/valid rights in the music.

    2 0 Reply
  3. John Lilburne

    Step up EFF and defend Google!

    Isn't it the God given right for tech companies to just take people's shit sell it on for a penny in the pound, and then use $millions to get a judge to approve the theft?

    2 5 Reply
  4. hellwig

    The Real Royalties

    Sounds like mechanical royalties are the real royalties of music. The money for the recording only goes to the record company (with whatever miniscule share promised to the artists). Sounds like mechanical royalties go to the people actually creating the music.

    2 1 Reply
  5. NateGee

    Has anyone actually heard of the band doing the suing?

    It wouldn't surprise me if the settlement was in the region of a couple of thousand $.

    IMO The American Dollar could be described as a minor band at best (I know it's not an infallible source of info, but when Wikipedia doesn't even have a listing of any of your songs then you're going nowhere) so are just angry that everyone's been ignoring them and saw this as a get rich quick scheme.

    2 1 Reply
    1. jimbo60
      Reply Icon

      Re: Has anyone actually heard of the band doing the suing?

      Perhaps you missed the bit where it said "class action". That can change the amounts by tacking several more zeroes on the end.

      0 1 Reply
  6. Snowy Silver badge
    Thumb Up

    More than a get rich scheme...

    Considering they only sued Google, Tidal (service) and Microsoft for allegedly failing to pay proper royalties for streaming their music in 2016 and the fact that Microsoft have settled out of court already means this is a bit more that a get rich quick scheme!. Microsoft are not know for give their money away to anyone who asks for it?

    2 0 Reply
  7. Suncoast

    Mechanical Royalties

    Is for music produced on physical media. CD, Records, Tape, Etc. My guess is they are setting the stage to attack "fair use" recordings on physical media. For example recording a song from the radio to cassette tape for personal use. That would have huge implications for music and video if fair use went away.

    0 0 Reply
  8. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Don't listen to their music without a contract, you might get sued.

    1 0 Reply
  9. RyokuMas
    Trollface

    Interesting....

    ... that it's both Microsoft and Google.

    Had it been just the former, I would have expected an outpouring of bile from the usual suspects about how Microsoft abuse every single patent and law possible, whereas in the latter's case I would expect a stream of comments about the impossibility of Google's guilt and how the plaintiffs must be overreacting...

    I guess there are a few cases of exploding head syndrome going on right now...

    1 0 Reply

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