Global Music Rights Sues Music Choice

• Global Music Rights (GMR), one of four U.S.-based performing rights organizations representing songwriters and composers for the public performance of their works, has filed a lawsuit against Music Choice “for repeatedly and willfully infringing upon nearly 100 GMR-licensed songs.”

The GMR release notes that Music Choice had been a GMR licensee for years, “until it let its license expire and claimed it would stop using GMR’s catalog. It didn’t. Instead, Music Choice continued playing GMR songs its subscribers love while refusing to pay the songwriters who created them.”

Prior to filing, GMR says “it made multiple good-faith license renewal offers, but Music Choice rejected them all. Even after receiving formal notice of its unauthorized status, and infringement notices from GMR’s outside counsel, O’Melveny & Myers, Music Choice kept performing GMR songs without authorization. GMR filed suit this week to protect the rights of its songwriters and composers.”

“We only turn to litigation as a last resort,” said GMR’s General Counsel, Emio Zizza. “But it’s well-established law that our clients’ copyrighted works can’t be publicly performed without a license. The many, many services that have entered into a GMR license and are paying their fees deserve the benefit of that license. Services that don’t want to pay for a GMR license don’t get to use our catalog and deprive our clients of their due.”