Did Spotify Stream Songs Without Paying? The Ferrick Class Action Settlement
From Music & Royalties Explained · 16:26
Show by The Griot
Songwriters sued Spotify in 2015 and 2016 for streaming compositions without serving the notices the compulsory license requires. The Ferrick class settlement paid forty-three million dollars into a fund, added future statutory royalties, and divided the money by streams. Months before final approval, Wixen Music Publishing opted out and sued for one point six billion dollars. Then Congress rewrote the rule.The episode follows the section 115 machinery: the notice of intention the law requires, the songs the collective said sat unmatched, the roughly three hundred thousand infringing songs Spotify's own lawyer estimated at the fairness hearing, and Judge Nathan's 2018 approval - over five hundred objectors, with fees cut to thirteen million. It covers the Music Modernization Act that ended notice-filing for digital providers, the December 2018 Wixen settlement, and the final dismissals that closed the whole chapter in April 2019.
More episodes of Music & Royalties Explained
More episodes
- How Much Does Spotify Pay in 2026? The Loud & Clear Numbers, Rung by Rung
- Did a Two-Second Guitar Sample Need a License? The Sixth Circuit Said Yes
- Where Can a Songwriter Sue for Thirty Thousand Dollars Without a Big Legal Bill? Inside the Copyright Claims Board
- When Is Internet Radio Not Radio? The Launch Media Case and the Interactive Line
- What Does It Cost to Lose a Music Case? The Statutory Damages Ladder, Song by Song
- Can You Mock a Song Without Asking? Two Live Crew, Orbison, and the Supreme Court's Parody Ruling
- Can You Sue for a Stolen Song Before the Copyright Office Says Yes? The Fourth Estate Ruling
- Can You Resell a Song You Bought? The ReDigi Case and the Copy That Ended Digital Resale
- Three Words of a Hit Song: The Biz Markie Sample and the Judge Who Said No
- How Much Did George Harrison Pay for My Sweet Lord? The Full Accounting
PodSearch is a free, independent podcast search engine. Read about PodSearch, the privacy policy or contact us.