Declan Colgan Music Ltd (DCM) has sued Kayne West and Universal Music Group for sampling part of a track that he did not have a license for and had reaped profits subsequently from in 2010 without paying royalties. The sample of King Crimson’s “21st Century Schizoid Man” was a feature in Kayne’s song “Power.” DCM secured an agreement with Universal Music Group and West production company that gave them 5.33% of royalty on “each copy of “Power” that was sold or exploited.” DCM’s lawsuit focuses on the difference in royalty payouts between “streaming services” sales of physical CDs.” In this case, DNC claims that paying royalty on streaming is lower than CD sales and is seeking payment of all sums due and interest.
“According to the terms of the license agreement, UMG must pay DCM a royalty on the same terms that West receives royalties from the track. And under the terms of West’s agreement with UMG, the royalty figure for a streaming track was equivalent to that of a track on a physical CD.”
DCM claims in their lawsuit that UMG “has failed, and continues to fail, to comply with its royalty accounting obligations in respect of one mode of exploitation, namely the making available of the Power [r]ecording to consumers through so-called ‘streaming’ services.”
– Excerpt from an article for Variety by K.J. Yossman. Read the full article here.
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