Flo & Eddie Seek Class Status
Flo and Eddie of The Turtles filed a motion in a Los Angeles federal court March 16 asking for class-action status for their suit alleging Sirius XM owes royalties to owners of pre-1972 recordings.
Led by Mark Volman – “Flo” – the class would consist of owners of pre-1972 recordings that were performed by Sirius XM in California from Aug. 21, 2009 to present.
Sirius XM “has treated the tens of thousands of pre-1972 recordings that it has exploited in connection with its satellite and Internet services exactly the same and considers the issues and the law to be identical for all pre-1972 recordings,” according to court documents.
“Sirius XM has exploited every single pre-1972 recording in exactly the same way and decided not to obtain licenses for all of those recordings based solely on its analysis of the law and not based on anything else, including the identity or conduct of the owners of those recordings … a performance of ‘Let It Be’ generates the same revenue as a performance of ‘Tiptoe Though the Tulips.’”
Flo and Eddie filed suit against Sirius in 2013 claiming the service had infringed the group’s copyrights by playing pre-1972 music like “Happy Together” and “It Ain’t Me Babe” without seeking authorization or paying royalties.
Their suit sought $100 million in damages. Judge Colleen McMahon of United States District Court in Manhattan rejected Sirius’ motion for summary judgment Nov. 14, and said The Turtles have performing rights to their recordings under state law, according to court documents.
“In short, general principles of common law copyright dictate that public performance rights in pre-1972 sound recordings do exist,” McMahon wrote. She has since ruled that Sirius may appeal the summary judgment ruling.
Flo & Eddie won a similar suit in California in September. Since federal law surrounding music before 1972 is unclear, both state cases have been viewed as having a massive effect on the interpretation of copyright laws, as thousands of clubs, radio stations, restaurants and sports arenas could be impacted.
