May
22
Whitesnake, Rob Zombie Suing Universal Music Group
Posted by Chris Harris on May 22, 2011 in News
Rob Zombie and his band
The suit comes on the heels of a victory on similar grounds several months ago by producers of Eminem’s early recordings, and a similar suit filed last month by the estate of Rick James.
The New York Times reports that “In all of these cases, the artists or their associates say that their record company violated their contracts by counting a digital download as a sale instead of a licensing, which would result in a substantially higher royalty.”
The definition could mean the difference between 10 to15 percent, and a 50 percent cut for artists. “Plaintiffs here allege, and the Ninth Circuit found, that digital download and ringtone income received by UMG derives from a license,” according to the complaint.
