'Weird Al' Yankovic Sues Sony Over Royalties

'Weird Al' Yankovic sues Sony over royalties.Alyse Gilbert/Young Hollywood/Getty Images

"Weird Al" Yankovic is suing Sony Music Entertainment for $5 million over royalty disputes, Billboard reports. The music parodist alleges that Sony took improper and duplicate recoupments resulting in underpayment of his royalties, has not paid him his fair share of revenue from his YouTube hits and the label has not shared money from settlements with Napster and Kazaa. Yankovic is also seeking a 50 percent cut of net receipts from digital downloads of his music, as his deal classifies that as a license rather than a traditional sale, which has a much lower royalty rate.

Yankovic's company, Ear Booker Enterprises, filed the lawsuit in Federal court in the Southern District of New York. The musician's suit is likely to hold up in court, as a case last year on behalf of Eminem established a legal precedent that downloads count as a license, meaning that many artists signed to major labels before the early 2000s are entitled to 50 percent of net receipts on those sales. 

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'Weird Al' Yankovic Sues Sony Over Royalties

'Weird Al' Yankovic sues Sony over royalties.Alyse Gilbert/Young Hollywood/Getty Images

"Weird Al" Yankovic is suing Sony Music Entertainment for $5 million over royalty disputes, Billboard reports. The music parodist alleges that Sony took improper and duplicate recoupments resulting in underpayment of his royalties, has not paid him his fair share of revenue from his YouTube hits and the label has not shared money from settlements with Napster and Kazaa. Yankovic is also seeking a 50 percent cut of net receipts from digital downloads of his music, as his deal classifies that as a license rather than a traditional sale, which has a much lower royalty rate.

Yankovic's company, Ear Booker Enterprises, filed the lawsuit in Federal court in the Southern District of New York. The musician's suit is likely to hold up in court, as a case last year on behalf of Eminem established a legal precedent that downloads count as a license, meaning that many artists signed to major labels before the early 2000s are entitled to 50 percent of net receipts on those sales. 

To read the new issue of Rolling Stone online, plus the entire RS archive: Click Here

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Toto Sues Sony Over Unpaid Royalties

David Paich and Steve Lukather of Toto perform at Hammersmith Apollo in London.

Toto is the latest band to sue their label over unpaid digital royalties. Lawyers representing the group have filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for Southern New York alleging that Sony has failed to account for and pay 50 percent of net receipts from licensing the band's music to third parties selling downloads of their work.

Just as in similar lawsuits by Kenny Rogers, Peter Frampton and Chuck D of Public Enemy, Toto's attorneys are hinging their argument on a precedent set by an Eminem royalty dispute last year establishing that digital sales represent a license, and as such, artists are entitled to 50 percent of receipts, as opposed to a royalty rate in the range of 12 to 20 percent, as with CDs at wholesale prices.

Photos: Random Notes
Toto's lawsuit also charges that Sony breached their contract in neglecting to pay out these royalties. The band is seeking compensatory damages in excess of $605,000 plus interest, as well as full accounting and legal fees.

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Toto Sues Sony Over Unpaid Royalties

David Paich and Steve Lukather of Toto perform at Hammersmith Apollo in London.

Toto is the latest band to sue their label over unpaid digital royalties. Lawyers representing the group have filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for Southern New York alleging that Sony has failed to account for and pay 50 percent of net receipts from licensing the band's music to third parties selling downloads of their work.

Just as in similar lawsuits by Kenny Rogers, Peter Frampton and Chuck D of Public Enemy, Toto's attorneys are hinging their argument on a precedent set by an Eminem royalty dispute last year establishing that digital sales represent a license, and as such, artists are entitled to 50 percent of receipts, as opposed to a royalty rate in the range of 12 to 20 percent, as with CDs at wholesale prices.

Photos: Random Notes
Toto's lawsuit also charges that Sony breached their contract in neglecting to pay out these royalties. The band is seeking compensatory damages in excess of $605,000 plus interest, as well as full accounting and legal fees.

To read the new issue of Rolling Stone online, plus the entire RS archive: Click Here

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Kenny Rogers Sues Capitol Records Over Royalties

Kenny Rogers performs at Hard Rock Live! in the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida.

Kenny Rogers has filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court of Tennessee alleging that Capitol Records has failed to pay him royalties for music sold as digital downloads or ringtones. The suit also alleges that the label has not paid the country star any portion of the monetary awards it has won in piracy lawsuits against companies such as Napster and Kazaa.

Rogers' original recording contract was with United Artists in 1975, but Capitol took it over after an agreement in 1977. According to that contract, royalty rates for all recorded works is set at "one-half of company's net royalties from each source." The singer's suit insists the label's refusal to pay appropriately for digital downloads is "part of a conscious decision by Capitol Records and others in the music business to deprive artists of their proper royalties."

Photos: Random Notes
Rogers is not the first to pursue this sort of lawsuit over a label neglecting to honor a royalty agreement when it comes to digital sales. The outcome of a lawsuit last year on behalf of Eminem set a precedent for establishing digital downloads as a "sale," not differentiated from traditional physical formats. Other artists, including Peter Frampton and Chuck D of Public Enemy, have pursued lawsuits in the wake of that decision.

To read the new issue of Rolling Stone online, plus the entire RS archive: Click Here

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