Could peace and love be returning to the US digital-music ecosystem? Don’t answer that question… But there is a new rapprochement of sorts in the relationship between satellite-radio firm Sirius XM and royalty-collector SoundExchange.
Sirius XM has agreed to pay SoundExchange a lump sum of $150m to settle a pair of lawsuits that had accused it of underpaying for performance royalties. “We have agreed to pay SoundExchange a one-time lump sum payment of $150 million on or before July 7, 2018,” noted Sirius XM’s filing with financial regulator the SEC.
“The settlement resolves all outstanding claims, including ongoing audits, under our statutory license for sound recordings for the period January 1, 2007 through December 31, 2017, and SoundExchange will dismiss these lawsuits with prejudice.”
For its part, SoundExchange CEO Michael Huppe hailed the settlement and said the money will be distributed to rightsholders and artists whose recordings were used during the period covered. “We are happy to resolve this case with SiriusXM. The settlement allows us to distribute additional royalties to SoundExchange’s artists and rights owners while avoiding additional costly litigation,” he said.
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