While some of us are out there either curing a hangover or trying to lose weight in the new year, Spotify is dealing with a massive copyright lawsuit from Wixen Music Publishing. Wixen, who handles such artists as Tom Petty, Zach De La Rocha and Tom Morello of Rage Against The Machine, Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth, has filed a lawsuit in California Federal Court claiming Spotify is streaming tens of thousands of its songs without a license and compensation.
These songs include such massive hits as Tom Petty's "Free Fallin'" and The Doors' "Light My Fire." According to Hollywood Reporter, Wixen is asking for $1.6 billion in the settlement plus injunctive relief, which is defined as "a court-ordered act or prohibition against an act or condition which has been requested, and sometimes granted, in a petition to the court for an injunction. Such an act is the use of judicial (court) authority to handle a problem and is not a judgment for money" by Law.com.
Here's what Wixen's songwriter group said in a statement to Hollywood Reporter.
"The Settlement Agreement is procedurally and substantively unfair to Settlement Class Members because it prevents meaningful participation by rights holders and offers them an unfair dollar amount in light of Spotify’s ongoing, willful copyright infringement of their works."
Wixen further claims Spotify "brazenly disregards United States Copyright law and has committed willful, ongoing copyright infringement." Spotify has not responded to Hollywood Reporter with a comment on the lawsuit.
