Earlier this year, SoundExchange sued streaming service Slacker and its parent company LiveOne, alleging that Slacker had “stopped paying statutory royalties” in 2017. How did that legal case go? It certainly didn’t go well for Slacker.
Yesterday, SoundExchange hailed a court ruling entering a judgement against Slacker and LiveOne to the tune of $9.7m. The judgement “permanently barred Slacker and LiveOne from using the statutory license going forward”. This more than the fine, may be the biggest problem for Slacker now, in terms of delivering music to its subscribers.
As for the parent company, in Q2 this year LiveOne saw its revenues fall by 40% year-on-year to $23.2m, although the company did turn a narrow operating profit of $237k. Those financials included an admission of “substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern within one year from the date that these financial statements are filed”, as well as a note that at the end of June, Slacker owed $16.9m in aggregate royalty payments to collecting societies.
Music Ally’s next Learn Live webinar will help you understand what’s required for artists to thrive in new international markets!