You’d think big-name music streaming services like Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube and SoundCloud would be weary of offering unlicensed content to their users – but royalty collection firm Pro Music Rights (PMR) says otherwise; and have sued several companies -including the aforementioned – for doing just that.
PMR basically monitors the usage of music belonging to artists they represent – last year, PMR sued Spotify for over USD 1bil in damages. PMR represents familiar names like Wiz Khalifa, Lil Yachty, Soulja Boy, Fall Out Boy and more.
This time, PMR is handing a wide-sweeping lawsuit to the likes of Amazon, Apple, Google, SoundCloud, Pandora and YouTube; who, according to PMR, have been streaming music without paying royalties. A report by Engadget says that the company then offered a total 10 defendants in the case licensing deals as a form of settlement.
In the lawsuit, the company is also seeking a maximum of USD150,000 compensation for each “willful infringement” of the Copyrights Act.
At the moment, the defendants have not issued their statements on the matter yet – so whether or not the suit is justified is still left to be seen.