Short-Changed by the Labels? Musicians Dispute Napster Settlement

The recording industry may have netted hundreds of millions of dollars in settlement money from lawsuits targeting Napster, Kazaa and other music-sharing services — but a group of “prominent” artist managers say their clients have not shared in the bounty.

The New York Post reports that EMI, Universal and Warner are still calculating payouts and the “level of copyright infringement” for each artist.

Yet even if there is money owed, industry insiders told the Post that legal fees have drastically cut into what would have been passed along to the artists.

Now, artist managers for performers such as Jewel, the Eagles, Don Henley, Korn and others are threatening to sue.

Representatives of the labels told the Post that they have already distributed settlement funds to their artists, or are beginning to do so.

Source:

“Infringement! Artists Say They Want Their Music Site Dough”
New York Post, February 27, 2008

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