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GMR Sues 3 Radio Groups

T

TheBigA

Global Music Rights, the new competitor to ASCAP & BMI, is suing three small radio groups for playing their music without a license. GMR says they've attempted to contact the groups several times, and have been ignored. Typically the courts rule in favor of the copyright owners:

www.allaccess.com

Global Music Rights Sues Three Radio Groups For Copyright Infringement

GLOBAL MUSIC RIGHTS has filed lawsuits against BLACK CROW MEDIA GROUP, ONE PUTT BROADCASTING and RED WOLF BROADCASTING CORPORATION for these station groups' alleged repeated and willful infringement of copyrighted songs licensed by GMR, which says has identified thousands of instances of willful...
www.allaccess.com www.allaccess.com

This isn't unusual. The large radio groups keep up to date with music licenses. The small stations are the ones that seem to want to avoid paying for the music they play. It never ends well.
 
TheBigA said:
This isn't unusual. The large radio groups keep up to date with music licenses. The small stations are the ones that seem to want to avoid paying for the music they play. It never ends well.
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And these days where small market radio is in a fight for it's life, these small stations or groups are risking their potential viability because chances are, the settlement amount will exceed the value of their station(s).
 
I'm not familiar with Red Wolf and One Putt, but I'm very familiar with Paul Stone's Southern Stone group. Their Jackson TN cluster is 50 miles from me. I'm sure there will wind up being some sort of settlement far short of the $27 million, but this is one heck of a warning shot across the bow to get the owner's attention.
 
Red Wolf Broadcasting Corp. isn't really a small market broadcaster. They have 28 licenses (including translators) in Connecticut, including WDRC-FM/Hartford. Although there seems to have been another "Red Wolf Broadcasting" based in North Carolina, which appears to be defunct, but there is some potential for confusion here.

Black Crow Media operates 7 stations in Valdosta, Georgia. One Putt Broadcasting operates 5 stations in Fresno.

Personally, I understand the "come at me bro" mentality described in the link. If the money isn't there, it isn't there, and a lawsuit won't change that.
 
PTBoardOp94 said:
Personally, I understand the "come at me bro" mentality described in the link. If the money isn't there, it isn't there, and a lawsuit won't change that.
Click to expand...
But as BigA mentioned, there is a long track record spanning decades of stations or streamers coming up on the really short end of the stick in this sort of litigation. Station owners who don't realize that history, stand to lose big time. And that means some really nasty consequences too, in spite of the station claiming they don't have the money
 
Kelly A said:
But as BigA mentioned, there is a long track record spanning decades of stations or streamers coming up on the really short end of the stick in this sort of litigation.
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Ask Ed Stolz. He was cruising along just fine until he got sued for playing music without a license. Very similar story.
 
The third of the three groups is going on the offensive, claiming that GMR hasn't made its case, and isn't specific with its dates or songs. What the radio group may not know is that that they need to be able to report and justify the licensing of any and all music they play. If it's not licensed by GMR, then perhaps ASCAP or BMI. My take is Southern Stone is digging a hole for itself.

www.insideradio.com

After Settling With Two Groups, GMR’s Copyright Fight With Southern Stone Goes Forward.

Global Music Rights last week reached an out of court settlement with two of the three radio groups it sued in the fall for allegedly using music in its repertoire
www.insideradio.com www.insideradio.com
 
TheBigA said:
The third of the three groups is going on the offensive, claiming that GMR hasn't made its case, and isn't specific with its dates or songs. What the radio group may not know is that that they need to be able to report and justify the licensing of any and all music they play. If it's not licensed by GMR, then perhaps ASCAP or BMI. My take is Southern Stone is digging a hole for itself.

www.insideradio.com

After Settling With Two Groups, GMR’s Copyright Fight With Southern Stone Goes Forward.

Global Music Rights last week reached an out of court settlement with two of the three radio groups it sued in the fall for allegedly using music in its repertoire
www.insideradio.com www.insideradio.com
Click to expand...
I am perplexed as to Paul Stone's reasoning behind this. He is a long-time player, so maybe this is the hill he wants to plant his flag on and defend to the end.
 
Really? Are ASCAP and BMI lowering their rates since these musicians are now with GMR? Nope! So it's another bill for music. So expect more of that right wing talk coming to a radio near you.
 
Harvey_Dogg said:
Really? Are ASCAP and BMI lowering their rates since these musicians are now with GMR? Nope! So it's another bill for music. So expect more of that right wing talk coming to a radio near you.
Click to expand...

It depends how you handle your royalties. Most stations use the RMLC, and they get a group rate for all PROs, including GMR.

Of course the easier solution (and a lot of stations do this with SESAC) is to simply avoid playing GMR songs. There aren't that many in terms of percentages. If you think you can make more money with right wing talk, that's always an option. But from what I've seen, stations that are merely satellite repeaters tend to get pretty weak ratings, and a lot of advertisers avoid right wing talk. Stations can also choose sports talk. GMR has been in business for a few years, and I really haven't seen a mad dash by stations to drop music for talk. Most stations view royalties as the cost of doing business.
 
TheBigA said:
It depends how you handle your royalties. Most stations use the RMLC, and they get a group rate for all PROs, including GMR.

Of course the easier solution (and a lot of stations do this with SESAC) is to simply avoid playing GMR songs. There aren't that many in terms of percentages. If you think you can make more money with right wing talk, that's always an option. But from what I've seen, stations that are merely satellite repeaters tend to get pretty weak ratings, and a lot of advertisers avoid right wing talk. Stations can also choose sports talk. GMR has been in business for a few years, and I really haven't seen a mad dash by stations to drop music for talk. Most stations view royalties as the cost of doing business.
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Unfortunately, the cost of doing business keeps going up... and up... and up. The price to pay for playing music is now in the 10% of gross revenues range. I might be okay with it if royalties were based on profits, but it has gotten out of hand.

My next format will be bird chirps. No royalties unless the bird lobby gets wind of it... tweet tweet.
 
Southern Stone is now disputing Global Music Rights charges, saying that they haven't proven they own the rights to certain songs:

www.insideradio.com

Southern Stone Says GMR Lawsuit Alleging Copyright Violations Is A Money-Grab.

After a federal judge rejected an attempt by Southern Stone Communications to toss a lawsuit brought against the company for alleged music copyright violations, the company is pushing back against
www.insideradio.com www.insideradio.com

One of the problems I've seen is that some writers changed their PRO from either BMI or ASCAP to join GMR. The problem is that older songs by those writers may still list their previous affiliation in the credits. In fact, some writers retained their heritage PRO membership while adding GMR, making it difficult to figure out who to pay. It becomes very complicated.
 
I love the argument that some of the music was aired as "part of a syndicated program". Apparently aired 20,000 times. Paul Stone must believe in these lawyers to the nth degree to choose this particular hill to die on.
 
exdjted said:
I love the argument that some of the music was aired as "part of a syndicated program".
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Stations are responsible for all royalties, broadcast or digital, regardless of origination. If the music was recorded, and the station played the recording, the station is liable.
 
TheBigA said:
GMR has settled its lawsuit with Southern Stone:

www.allaccess.com

Radio Industry News, New Music, Music Promotion, Radio Station Song Charts

All Access offers the latest radio industry news and music news, music promotions for record companies new music, radio station song charts, and much more. AllAccess.com has been serving the radio and music industry since 1995, always bringing you the highest quality content with...
www.allaccess.com www.allaccess.com
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And Paul Stone accomplished what???? He could have done this 6 months ago.
 
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