Lawsuit notes that Universal “incurs practically no expenses or risks to create and distribute digital downloads yet UMG reaps millions of dollars every year from such exploitation.”
The Allman Brothers Band have decided to sue Universal Music for more than $10 million USD over royalties from CD sales and digital downloads services, reports Reuters.
The lawsuit, filed in Manhattan federal court, said UMG “refuses to pay Plaintiffs at the correct royalty rate for its digital exploitation of the Capricorn Masters,” including from CDs, digital downloads and ringtones.
The lawsuit centers around a 1985 agreement between the band and Polygram, which Universal later bought, that said the band would be paid half of the profits on any other commercial usage not specified in the agreement like the sale of music downloads on Apple’s iTunes for example.
“UMG incurs practically no expenses or risks in connection with the Masters, particularly with respect to licensing other companies such as Apple to create and distribute digital downloads … yet UMG reaps millions of dollars every year from such exploitation,” the lawsuit said.
The band is rightly angry over the deal since there was no way to foresee in 1985 that one day a record label wouldn’t need to actually manufacture or distribute records, that it would all be done digitally. In their eyes, as well as mine I might add, giving 50% of you profits to a company that doesn’t do a thing is entirely unfair and disproves once again the myth that record labels care about music artists.
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You know it’s funny. The Big four are crying that they are being stolen from as well as the musicians by illegal downloads. And what are these guys doing? They are stealing from their own musicians. In the millions. And they just can’t understand why nobody feels bad for them. It’s just to bad once again it’s the bands that get hurt. Hopefully the Allman Brothers will get one over on UMG. They deserve it.
The old artists have all done well for themselves it is the new generation of producers and artists that are hurting badly with the illegal downloads no one as far as I know even knows who the allman brothers are the ones who are their fans are like 50? 60 ? 70 ? they buy cd’s well that is if they are still buying and they for the most part do not know what a computer or the internet is or how to use it.
I’m 18 and I love The Allman Brothers. Music doesn’t just die like that.
Sarge 2004, hit last FM. That’s right, I have friends who are into Elvis and The Beatles.
The Allman Brothers are American Southern rock and started in the late 1960s and were popular through the 70s on the album rock charts. They are one of the big acts that made album rock popular I think, with others like Lynyrd Skynyrd. Ramblin’ Man must be their biggest song.
we would like you to have a record label for a band aged 12 years old a group of girls.
so please will you contact back.