Posted on 06/03/2015 5:19:41 PM PDT by a fool in paradise
Nine years later, round two in court for the purveyor of concert recordings and footage.
The NMPA has filed a suit on behalf of 26 music publishing companies against Wolfgang's Vault, an online marketplace which sells live concerts, CDs and vinyl.
Peermusic, ABKCO Music, Imagem and Screen Gems are among the publishers supporting the lawsuit, which was filed today in U.S District Court in New York.
The complaint alleges that Wolfgang's Vault has infringed on the companies' recording copyrights, through streaming, downloads, and physical sales. The complaint maintains that the sources from which the company acquired its recordings archive, including the Newport Jazz and Folk Festival and famed concert promoter Bill Graham, did not include the right to sell those recordings, but were simply the recordings themselves. The complaint asserts that Wolfgang's Vault lacks both synch and mechanical licenses to the content in its store.
“Systematic copyright infringement cannot be a business model, and it is unfortunate that Wolfgang’s Vault chose not to compensate all of the creators responsible for their content," comments David Israelite, president and CEO of NMPA, in a statement. "Hopefully, this lawsuit will bring publishers and many iconic songwriters the revenue they deserve for the use of their music.”
A source with knowledge of the suit tells Billboard that the companies have been concerned about Wolfgang's Vault and its respective companies' websites for some time.
This isn't the first lawsuit that Bill Sagan, CEO of Wolfgang's Vault and parent company Norton, has faced over claims of copyright infringement. Sagan told Billboard in 2011 that "we own the copyrights to the live performance masters. There were some... that took issue with that, primarily major labels, and we went to court, and we won. All the rights we thought we had when we bought these archives are rights that we still have and, in some cases, were expanded as a result of the litigation." That case, filed in 2006 by The Doors, The Grateful Dead, Santana and others, ended in a settlement two years later.
Sagan maintained to Billboard in 2011 that the company paid all necessary licenses, including to public rights organizations and for interactive streaming.
In addition to its main store, the suit also names Daytrotter, the website of the Horseshack recording studio, which invites artists to recording sessions at its Rock Island, Ill. headquarters. Wolfgang's Vault acquired a majority stake in Daytrotter in 2008. The site offers limited free listening as well as a subscription service for unlimited, ad-free streaming.
The music companies seek either the maximum statutory amount -- $150,000 per infringement, or $120 million for the 800 cases of infringement the complaint references -- or an estimate of actual damages plus profits from sales, as well as legal fees.
Wolfgang's Vault did not return a request for comment.
Billboard’s description is misleading, they are not selling vinyl recordings from the Bill Graham archives.
They bought his recordings library (audio and video) as well as photos/negatives/posters.
They have broadened their marketplace to include album sales (including handling used record sales).
The CDs I see also are used common market CDs (as manufactured by original companies).
They have an audio streaming subscription offer and host full concerts (for free at least at this time) on youtube.
It appears they do sell digital downloads of live concerts.
Modern music mess ping.
They are copyright infringers.
Bill Graham thought he owned and could control anything having to do with music in San Francisco.
Seems these guys do too.
Maybe in another 80 years people who were never there will want to listen to them when they become public domain.
Just like today’s audiences are mad for Rudy Vallee recordings.
Not sure your point.
Another thing to consider is that Bill Graham was a very shrewd man who owned the venues, promotion company, and sometimes management company for these performers.
He may have had some extensive release agreements within his contracts he had the performers sign.
Additionally, these are not typical “walk into a show and video it with an iphone” clips. They are 2 (or more) camera setups with cameramen onstage and in the front row and elsewhere.
His earlier shows utilized a couple cameras on tripods.
Extending copyrights eternally every time the extension of Disney’s mouse comes up benefits nobody. The creators are dead. Their audience is dead. And in the terms of the works held by Time-Life-Warner-Turner-MGM-DC and Disney-Marvel, few of the creators who still are living see a dime for their works.
These works should sit in a vault another 80 years before they can be viewed?
I bought a few concerts from there. It never occurred to me that they didn't have the rights to sell them.
You really don’t have any idea of how Gestapo thug Graham was about it.
He would be furious if any band played or tried to play a show not promoted by BGP.
As far as Woflgang’s Vault, they will settle.
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Rather odd The Dead would be suing. They used to let fans tape their shows all they wanted. Even set up a special section for them to do so.
“Rather odd The Dead would be suing. They used to let fans tape their shows all they wanted. Even set up a special section for them to do so.”
No one was selling them.
Maybe in another 80 years people who were never there will want to listen to them when they become public domain. —
Not if Toilet Paper (TPP) passes.
Copyrights are in there.
I’m watching NYE 1978 with the Blues Brothers right now.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTpiL_Leg-Q
Bill Graham may have ushered in corporate rock but it's hardly a dramatic case in the HORRIBLE music biz.
Get your money up front. And keep on playing.
The Blues Brother concert I am watching was telecast and radio cast (on KSAN). Contracts were signed and they certainly weren't as forced as the ones from gangsters.
I was surprised to learn the other night that Duck Dunn had passed.
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