Eminem’s Publisher Scores Legal Victory In Lawsuit Against Spotify
Eminem’s Publisher Scores Legal Victory In Lawsuit Against Spotify! Eminem’s publisher Eight Mile Style has been deeply embroiled in a legal battle with Spotify for quite some time now and reportedly scored a legal victory on April 23.
As per The Hollywood Reporter, a federal judge ruled that Eight Mile Style can proceed with their suit against Spotify citing that the streaming giant didn’t have exclusive rights to stream 250 songs from Eminem’s decorated discography, including 8 Mile soundtrack smash “Lose Yourself.”
The lawsuit also takes aim at the Harry Fox Agency that was hired directly by Spotify to acquire the music licenses. The judge declined to dismiss a claim that the Harry Fox Agency infringed copyright law by helping Spotify distribute the rapper’s music without a proper license.
@Eminem publisher lawsuit against Spotify pic.twitter.com/c4aYprXmNd
— LordTreeSap (@LordTreeSap) April 28, 2021
Eight Mile Style’s court action is a slap in the face on the previous administration’s landmark passing of the Music Modernization Act of 2018. Not only do they allege that the licenses were never legit but also that royalties weren’t properly paid and that other notices were backlogged.
“At this stage, however, the court is required to take the plaintiffs’ allegations as true, and those allegations include the plaintiffs’ claims about how and why industry practice and HFA’s own reputation allowed HFA’s actions to conceal Spotify’s lack of a valid mechanical license for the Eight Mile Compositions,” U.S. District Court Judge Aleta Trauger wrote.
The judge continued, “The purpose and effect of that concealment, moreover, was not simply to prevent past infringement from being discovered, but to allow infringement to continue. Even if HFA was innocent in Spotify’s first alleged instances of infringement, the plaintiffs have plausibly alleged that its actions contributed to Spotify’s ability to continue infringing over time.”
