Culture

More bad news for Spotify

The streaming giant was hit with two new lawsuits this week.

Culture

Culture

More bad news for Spotify

The streaming giant was hit with two new lawsuits this week.

Spotify’s troubles continue to mount as the streaming service faces two new lawsuits alleging improper use of songwriters’ work. The suits, one from Bob Gaudio, a member of the group Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons, and another from Bluewater Music Services Corporation, involve thousands of songs that the two claim Spotify has not acquired the proper rights for.

The suit could amount to considerable damages for Spotify, which would owe hefty fines for each of the songs improperly licensed, if found liable.

“Anything less than the maximum $150,000 statutory damage award for each of the Infringed Works involved herein would encourage infringement, amount to a slap on the wrist, and reward a multibillion dollar company, about to go public, that rules the streaming market through a pattern of willful infringement on a staggering scale,” reads the complaint from Bluewater Music.

Spotify is in a complicated position. The company does acquire broad licenses from music publishers like ASCAP, which cover a large swath of the music on the platform. But song compositions, which are owned by publishers and songwriters, present another layer. In May, Spotify settled with songwriters and publishers who sued the company several years ago over a similar issue for $43.45 million.

Bluewater, however, doesn’t appear to be interested in settlements, claiming that Spotify’s previous settlement does nothing to remedy the situation.

“Spotify will be allowed to walk away after paying approximately four dollars ($4.00) per infringed composition. Such a settlement is essentially an empty gesture that encourages infringement and is entirely insufficient to remedy years of illegal activity,” the company argued.