{"id":1530,"date":"2024-06-26T13:36:03","date_gmt":"2024-06-26T13:36:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/blog\/jesus-mary-chain-robert-fripp-file-lawsuit-against-prs-for-music\/"},"modified":"2024-06-26T13:36:03","modified_gmt":"2024-06-26T13:36:03","slug":"jesus-mary-chain-robert-fripp-file-lawsuit-against-prs-for-music","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/blog\/jesus-mary-chain-robert-fripp-file-lawsuit-against-prs-for-music\/","title":{"rendered":"Jesus & Mary Chain, Robert Fripp File Lawsuit Against PRS for Music"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n

\n\tLONDON \u2014 Scottish indie rock band The Jesus and Mary Chain and Robert Fripp, a founder member of British prog rock act King Crimson, are among a group of musicians and songwriters who have filed a joint lawsuit against U.K. collecting society PRS for Music over how it licenses and administers their live performance rights, accusing the organization of a \u201clack of transparency\u201d and \u201cunreasonable\u201d terms for its members.<\/p>\n

\n\tAccording to legal papers filed at London\u2019s High Court, which have been viewed by Billboard<\/em>, the 10 claimants are suing PRS for Music for damages resulting from what they describe as \u201cunnecessary contractual requirements and practices.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThese include PRS placing a number of \u201cunreasonable\u201d obstructions on members who wish to withdraw their live public performance rights and instead strike their own direct licensing deals with promoters, venues or festivals, say attorneys.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe claimants also accuse PRS for Music \u2014 which represents the rights of more than 160,000 songwriters, composers and music publishers \u2014 of charging higher administration fees to smaller acts than some of its most popular and highest-grossing songwriter members, thus creating a two-tier system where the most successful musicians are effectively being subsidized by the rest of PRS\u2019s membership.<\/p>\n

\n\tSuch preferential treatment goes against the society\u2019s mandate as a collective management organization, say the claimants. As part of their legal action, they cite internal PRS figures that, according to a spokesperson, indicate that rights holders participating in the organization\u2019s Major Live Concert Service \u2014 which handles royalty administration for acts playing venues with a capacity of above 5,000 people \u2014 can pay an average administration fee effective to 0.2% while the wider PRS membership pays 23%, proportionately around 115 times more.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe lawsuit additionally accuses PRS of deliberately withholding information from its members about deductions from their royalty income when their rights are licensed internationally. This lack of transparency means writers are unable to make fully informed decisions about licensing their rights, say the claimants\u2019 attorneys, who accuse the London-based collecting society of \u201cnot acting in their [members\u2019] best interests.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe lawsuit is being led by Pace Rights Management, a direct competitor to PRS for Music, which licenses and administers live performance rights for composers, lyricists, songwriters, publishers and other rights-holders.<\/p>\n

\n\tAlso listed among the 10 claimants are five members of the band Haken; The Jesus and Mary Chain\u2019s founders and core duo, Jim and William Reid; and Fripps\u2019 King Crimson bandmate Michael Jaksyk.<\/p>\n

\n\tIn a joint statement, the ten claimants say that PRS has repeatedly refused to discuss or \u201cconstructively engage\u201d with their complaints over a period of several years and accuse the society of straying \u201csignificantly from the principles on which it was founded 110 years ago, to the point that the organisation\u2019s policies no longer appear to be operating in the best interests of its members.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cRegretfully,\u201d the claimants\u2019 statement continues, \u201cwe have been left with no option but to seek redress through the courts. The ball is now firmly in PRS\u2019s court. Either they constructively engage with much needed reforms to empower and benefit writers and publishers, or they continue to resist these necessary changes, and attempt to defend the indefensible.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI am yet to be persuaded that the PRS operates on behalf of the membership\u2019s best interests,\u201d added Fripp in a statement.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tIn response, PRS for Music said that it \u201cfundamentally\u201d rejects the allegations and \u201cwill be vigorously defending the society against these claims.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cPRS for Music has consistently sought constructive dialogue with PACE for many years, proposing and implementing solutions to the issues raised,\u201d said the organization in a statement, which accused PACE of itself failing to engage with PRS to find a solution.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThis has resulted in royalties being unnecessarily withheld from PRS members for the live performance of their works at concerts and also created complexity and uncertainty for live music venues and promoters,\u201d the society hit back.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tReferring to the terms of its Major Live Concert Service (MLCS), PRS said the initiative was \u201cjust one part of a wide range of services\u201d which it provides to members at different stages of their career, including songwriting camps, mentoring schemes and touring and hardship grants for new acts. Last year, the organization paid out \u00a3943 million in royalties to its members.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cGiven PRS for Music\u2019s sincere efforts to engage constructively, it is disappointing that PACE has taken the step to issue proceedings against us,\u201d said PRS for Music.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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