Spotify wins case over ‘billions’ of Eminem streams

Spotify has emerged victorious in a protracted legal battle concerning the streaming of Eminem’s music. The lawsuit, initiated in 2019 by Eight Mile Style, Eminem’s music publisher, alleged that Spotify had streamed the rapper’s tracks without proper licensing.

Eight Mile Style claimed that Spotify had failed to secure the correct licenses for Eminem’s work and sought damages amounting to around £30 million. The lawsuit highlighted that popular tracks like “Lose Yourself” and “Without Me” had been streamed billions of times on the platform without appropriate payments to the artist.

Despite these claims, a Tennessee judge ruled that Spotify would not be held liable for any alleged unpaid royalties. The court found that although Spotify did not have a license to stream some of the tracks, any potential penalty for copyright infringement would fall on Kobalt Music Group. Kobalt was responsible for collecting royalties on behalf of Eight Mile Style.

This case underscores the complexities of music rights management in the digital streaming era. Eight Mile Style’s legal action argued that Spotify had “deceptively” claimed to have licenses for 243 of Eminem’s songs. The publisher accused Spotify of making sporadic royalty payments for tracks that had been streamed hundreds of millions of times, asserting that these payments covered only a fraction of the actual streams.

Interestingly, Eminem was not directly involved in the lawsuit and only learned about it when it was filed. His publicist expressed surprise at the news, stating, “We are just as surprised as anyone else by this news,” as reported by The Verge.

Throughout the legal proceedings, Eminem’s music remained available on Spotify. As of now, he is the 12th most-streamed artist on the platform, boasting 76 million monthly listeners.

In response to the lawsuit, Spotify shifted blame to Kobalt Music Publishing, a company responsible for managing a vast catalogue of songs and collecting royalties. Spotify contended that Kobalt had misled them into believing it controlled Eight Mile Style’s catalogue when it did not. Spotify also argued that Eight Mile Style had accepted royalty payments from the service since its US launch in 2011 without ever challenging the licensing status of the tracks.

Spotify’s legal team criticized Eight Mile Style for accepting payments while alleging infringement, arguing that the publisher’s stance was illogical. Eight Mile Style dismissed these claims as unfounded, leading to several years of legal wrangling over the details of the case.

At one point, the case faced delays over a dispute about whether Spotify CEO Daniel Ek would be required to testify. Although the judge ruled that Ek would need to give a deposition, both parties eventually requested a summary judgment to avoid a full trial.

Judge Aleta A. Trauger delivered her opinion on August 15, ruling that Spotify should not be held liable for damages. The judge noted that while Kobalt was authorized to collect royalties for Eminem’s music, it lacked the authority to license the tracks in the US and Canada. These rights had been transferred to Bridgeport Music in 2009, a company affiliated with Eight Mile Style. However, Eight Mile Style had not formally notified third parties of this transfer, which Judge Trauger described as “inexplicable” unless it was a strategic move to extract money from Spotify.

The judge criticized Eight Mile Style for not sending Spotify any cease-and-desist letters and suggested that the publisher may have preferred to claim infringement rather than address licensing issues. The court also noted that Spotify’s agreement with Kobalt did not include a comprehensive database of the songs covered by the contract, which contributed to the confusion over rights.

Although Spotify avoided liability, it will be responsible for paying legal fees accrued over the five-year case, which could be substantial.