Big news on the legal side of recording industry: the Allman Brothers Band and Cheap Trick have filed a class-action lawsuit against Sony over the way it pays royalties for digital sales. Although we certainly want Cheap Trick to get its due for “I Want You to Want me,” this is much larger than the two bands themselves (hence the class-action suit), and could potentially have resounding impact on the way all record companies dole out proceeds for digital sales. Both Hypebot and Digital Music News have the info, including the firm’s press release…but, Copyfight has a post that gets a little bit into the legalese and helps explain what this is all about:
The question of whether the higher rate is due depends on whether you think the download is more like a license for use (such as in a movie or TV show) – expensive – or more like a CD sale – cheap. The artists claim the former; Sony is claiming the latter.
We’ll have to watch as this one unfolds, but in the meantime, it looks like both the Allmans and Cheap Trick are on tour this summer pretty much everywhere across the
