Spotify’s 2015 ended unhappily for the streaming service with a $150m class-action lawsuit from musician David Lowery.
Now, as predicted, 2016 is continuing in similar vein with a separate $200m action led by another musician, Melissa Ferrick. Her lawsuit lists more than 125 songs that she says were made available on Spotify without the necessary publishing licences.
A key point: according to Billboard, Ferrick is a client of digital distributor Audiam, which has been prominently involved in the debate about Spotify’s publishing licensing since its dispute with Victory Records last October.
“At this point, Spotify’s failure to properly obtain licenses is much more than what it euphemistically describes as an “administration system” problem; it is systemic and willful copyright infringement for which actual and statutory damages are the remedy,” claims the latest lawsuit, which could run separately to Lowery’s or combine with it at some stage.
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