Lawsuit alleges Apple part of 'massive music piracy operation'
A new lawsuit claims that Apple and a music distribution company are involved in a "massive music piracy operation" to profit from re-recorded compositions.
A new lawsuit alleges that Apple is distributing pirated copies of popular songs and jazz standards via iTunes.
Apple is no stranger to music-related lawsuits. In September 2019, a complaint alleged that the Cupertino tech giant profited from pirated recordings of music pulled from physical copies. Now, a similar lawsuit has Apple in the crosshairs again.
The lawsuit, filed Monday with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, accuses Apple and Adasam Limited of illegally reproducing and distributing more than 80 pirated recordings of musical compositions.
Adasam is a UK-based music distribution company that apparently has no visible internet presence. On the iTunes Store, it operates under imprint names like Blue Orchid, Six Week Smile and Atlantic Motion.
More specifically, the suit claims that Adasam is selling recordings by "virtually every well-known recording artist from the 1920s through the 1960s." The company's catalog is allegedly pirated, since the plaintiffs say it did not obtain the proper mechanical licenses to duplicate the recordings.
As for Apple's part in the alleged scheme, the complaint claims that the company contracts with Adasam to distribute its bootlegged catalog on the iTunes Store. In many cases, the allegedly pirated copies are offered in addition to legitimate duplicates offered by record labels.
In one case, a legitimate version of Lena Horne's "Stormy Weather" was being sold by RCA on the iTunes Store for $1.29, while a supposedly bootlegged copy was offered by Adasam for 99 cents.
The complaint also claims that Apple and Adasam "brazenly" pirated compositions for a series of greatest hits recordings, including copies of "virtually every prominent recording from the 1940s through the early 1960s." It adds that each entry in the series contains about 30 recordings that Apple and Adasam "have absolutely no right to sell."
"All of this should have made it obvious that Adasam is operating a huge music piracy operation," the suit reads. "Apple had actual knowledge of, or willfully chose to ignore, the evidence of piracy, and participated in the infringement on a massive scale."
Among the plaintiffs in the case are SA Music, The Harold Arlen Trust, the Ray Henderson Music Co. and the Four Jays Music Company. The latter plaintiff also filed the aforementioned lawsuit from September.
Combined, the plaintiffs wrote hundreds of popular songs and jazz standards. Harold Arlen, for example, co-wrote "Over the Rainbow," Harry Warren composed songs like "The Chatanooga Choo Cho" and "I Only Have Eyes for You," and Ray Henderson wrote "Bye Bye Blackbird," among others.
The complaint is seeking damages and legal fees, as well as a permanent injunction that would bar Apple and Adasam from allegedly infringing on the plaintiffs' copyrighted material.
A new lawsuit alleges that Apple is distributing pirated copies of popular songs and jazz standards via iTunes.
Apple is no stranger to music-related lawsuits. In September 2019, a complaint alleged that the Cupertino tech giant profited from pirated recordings of music pulled from physical copies. Now, a similar lawsuit has Apple in the crosshairs again.
The lawsuit, filed Monday with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, accuses Apple and Adasam Limited of illegally reproducing and distributing more than 80 pirated recordings of musical compositions.
Adasam is a UK-based music distribution company that apparently has no visible internet presence. On the iTunes Store, it operates under imprint names like Blue Orchid, Six Week Smile and Atlantic Motion.
More specifically, the suit claims that Adasam is selling recordings by "virtually every well-known recording artist from the 1920s through the 1960s." The company's catalog is allegedly pirated, since the plaintiffs say it did not obtain the proper mechanical licenses to duplicate the recordings.
As for Apple's part in the alleged scheme, the complaint claims that the company contracts with Adasam to distribute its bootlegged catalog on the iTunes Store. In many cases, the allegedly pirated copies are offered in addition to legitimate duplicates offered by record labels.
In one case, a legitimate version of Lena Horne's "Stormy Weather" was being sold by RCA on the iTunes Store for $1.29, while a supposedly bootlegged copy was offered by Adasam for 99 cents.
The complaint also claims that Apple and Adasam "brazenly" pirated compositions for a series of greatest hits recordings, including copies of "virtually every prominent recording from the 1940s through the early 1960s." It adds that each entry in the series contains about 30 recordings that Apple and Adasam "have absolutely no right to sell."
"All of this should have made it obvious that Adasam is operating a huge music piracy operation," the suit reads. "Apple had actual knowledge of, or willfully chose to ignore, the evidence of piracy, and participated in the infringement on a massive scale."
Among the plaintiffs in the case are SA Music, The Harold Arlen Trust, the Ray Henderson Music Co. and the Four Jays Music Company. The latter plaintiff also filed the aforementioned lawsuit from September.
Combined, the plaintiffs wrote hundreds of popular songs and jazz standards. Harold Arlen, for example, co-wrote "Over the Rainbow," Harry Warren composed songs like "The Chatanooga Choo Cho" and "I Only Have Eyes for You," and Ray Henderson wrote "Bye Bye Blackbird," among others.
The complaint is seeking damages and legal fees, as well as a permanent injunction that would bar Apple and Adasam from allegedly infringing on the plaintiffs' copyrighted material.
Comments
It was Apple that transformed the industry away from rampant piracy, but some people seem to conveniently forget that fact.
lawyers will work this out. The company that should really be in their crosshairs is Google - since you can literally listen to any song on YouTube without paying a penny. And even Spotify’s free tier allows you access to listen to millions of recordings.
This is really between Adasam and those accusing them of piracy.
I wonder how many of these songs were actually sold. It’s more likely they were streamed on a Jazz channel or best songs of 19xx.
Apple’s liability is likely minimal, though they might need get licenses all over again. I doubt the mistake was bad faith on their part, and they can prove that. Adasam on the other hand...
Because judges and attorneys are the only honest people.
/s
Apple seems to keep much more organized in keeping authentic albums and artists listed, but I assume some bad actors could still slip in. I would venture music from 1920 to 1960 is not monitored as closely.
I see huge amounts of pirated Latin music for sale on iTunes, Amazon, etc. One well known pirate is Circulor, who are the same people behind the Rareza pirate CDs that have been around since the late 90’s.
Occasionally they get pulled but in many cases the original label is defunct. Quality is often poor, obviously ripped from old vinyl.
All the music retailers should check that what is being sold through their store is legal. Bricks and mortar stores wouldn’t be allowed to sell stolen goods, which is what pirate recordings are.
Like YouTube, Apple doesn't pay a penny either, and neither does anyone else in the streaming market. They pay a lot less than a penny, .003-.008 or less on average (Most others pay around .001-.004 on average, except for Tidal which pays .006 - .008 on average). For iTunes sales, Apple keeps 30% of the sale, as with most things iTunes, then discount the cut for publishers and labels and you might get to the actual artist payment (independent artists still often use a publisher even when acting as their own label). YouTube pays an absurdly low amount per play, but they do pay. Spotify's free tier actually pays artists for listeners on their free tier, even if less than their paid tier (though quite a lot compared to YouTube) as does Deezer and some others that offer a free, advertising-based tier.
Just pondering...
https://completemusicupdate.com/article/two-more-estates-join-the-harold-arlen-litigation-against-apple-amazon-et-al/
Believe the "Apple should have known" argument is moot. If it's not, then, "Youtube should have known..."