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<b><i>Online Extra</b></i> Sirius XM Sued Over Pre-1972 Royalties

BY Zoe Tillman
August 30, 2013

Music copyright lawyers: Don't touch that dial. Nonprofit SoundExchange Inc., which collects and distributes digital performance royalties and distributes them to artists and copyright owners, filed a'lawsuit on Aug. 26 accusing Sirius XM Radio Inc. of underpaying.

In the complaint, filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, SoundExchange claimed Sirius wasn't including certain revenues in a formula designed to calculate how much the satellite radio company should pay in royalties under its license. Sirius, according to SoundExchange, excluded revenues from pre-1972 recordings, certain premium subscription packages and products developed by XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. before it merged with Sirius in 2008.

Jenner & Block's Michael DeSanctis, the firm's former managing partner and a member of the content, media and entertainment practice, is leading SoundExchange's effort to recover damages the nonprofit estimated were worth a minimum of $50 million and possibly more than $100 million. DeSanctis said today that SoundExchange had been a “long and very good client” of the firm since around 2005.

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