UK’s PRS For Music is suing SoundCloud over unpaid royalties
British publishing organisation PRS for Music has announced it will take SoundCloud to court for failing to pay royalties to its songwriters.
PRS has claimed the music platform “continues to deny it needs a PRS for Music licence” for streaming in the United Kingdom and Europe, and has “no alternative but to commence legal proceedings.”
In an email addressed to PRS members, executive director Karen Buse said that the decision comes after five years of unsuccessful negotiations.
“We have asked SoundCloud numerous times to recognise their responsibilities to take a licence to stop the infringement of our members’ copyrights, but so far our requests have not been met,” reads the letter, which has been circulating around social media.
Furthermore, PRS hinted to Music Business Worldwide that over the past few years, SoundCloud refused to negotiate a licence at all.
"SoundCloud does not accept that it requires a license for its existing service in the UK and Europe and has informed us that it will be defending the claim," PRS said a background note given to MBW.
SoundCloud has responded to the lawsuit, saying that PRS’ decision to launch the class-action lawsuit was “regrettable.”
“We believe this approach does not serve the best interests of any of the parties involved, in particular the members of the PRS, many of whom are active users of our platform and who rely on it to share their work and communicate with their fanbase,” reads SoundCloud’s statement.
“SoundCloud is a platform by creators, for creators. No one in the world is doing more to enable creators to build and connect with their audience while protecting the rights of creators, including PRS members. We are working hard to create a platform where all creators can be paid for their work, and already have deals in place with thousands of copyright owners, including record labels, publishers and independent artists.”
It hasn’t been an easy year of negotiations for the music service, which launched in 2008 and now boasts over 175m users per month. Earlier this year, Sony Music pulled its entire catalogue from SoundCloud, including music from artists such as Adele, Kelly Clarkson and Hozier.
Last week, TMN reported that SoundCloud also cut ties with music analytics company Next Big Sound.
Warner Music Group was the first major to ink a licensing deal with SoundCloud last year, followed closely by indie global rights agency Merlin. Details of an alleged licensing deal with Universal Music Group are also due to be announced any day.
SoundCloud only began to operate with music licences last year, when it indicated that it would introduce paid subscription tiers. Although much like YouTube’s Music Key service, no word has been revealed whether its launch will take place any time soon.