Sirius XM to pay labels $210 million for unpaid royalties for pre-1972 songs

Sirius XM has agreed to pay the major labels $210 million in a royalties dispute over songs recorded before 1972.

The issue has highlighted obscure copyright rules, since federal copyright law only started protecting recordings in 1972. Before that, only the songwriters had copyrights for actually writing the music and lyrics. So, the major labels - Sony, Universal and Warner - as well as ABKCO, said that Sirius XM had been playing all these songs without paying the artists that recorded them or the labels that released the recordings.

The members of the 1960s rock group The Turtles, best known for their song “Happy Together,” had first shined a light to this issue two years ago. They filed lawsuits in federal courts, claiming that New York, California and Florida did have state copyright laws to protect their pre-1972 recordings but Sirius XM was not paying them, notes The New York Times. After that, the labels filed their own suit.

As Rolling Stone notes, a judge ruled in October 2014 that Sirius XM would have to go back and get the proper licensing to play those songs in the future. The company said in a filing to the SEC that it did reach a settlement with the labels for $210 million.

“This is a great step forward for all music creators,” Recording Industry Association of America Chairman & CEO Cary Sherman said in a statement. “Music has tremendous value, whether it was made in 1970 or 2015. We hope others take note of this important agreement and follow Sirius XM’s example.”

The labels also sued Pandora for the same reason, and that case is still ongoing.

As for The Turtles, they won rulings in California and New York, but had a setback in Florida. Still, their case with Sirius XM is still unresolved.

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