When the Covid-19 pandemic and its lockdowns hit, for many artists livestreaming was suddenly the only way they could connect with their audiences to perform. Yet this moment came when the licensing models around online concerts were… well, let’s say they were still developing. And as livestreaming grew and evolved rapidly as a business, tensions emerged.
The latest example is a lawsuit in the UK, where collecting society PRS for Music is suing livestreaming firm LIVENow over licensing. CMU picked up on the lawsuit, which zeroes in on one of the company’s biggest online events, Dua Lipa’s November 2020 broadcast, suggesting that it sold 285,000 tickets and was watched by more than five million people globally.
The dispute here is partly about data: PRS said that it had been unable to get information about the revenues generated by LIVENow’s streams, in order to calculate licensing fees. It is seeking an injunction to get that data, as well as one to prevent the company from streaming any more concerts that include performances of works that the society represents.
LIVENow has yet to comment.
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