Major labels sue SiriusXM over pre-1972 sound recordings

Yesterday major record companies Sony, Universal, and Warner, along with smaller group ABKCO, filed copyright suit against satellite radio operator SiriusXM, alleging unauthorized use of pre-1972 sound recordings.

Late last month SoundExchange, the record industry administrator of digital sound recording copyrights, filed its own suit against Sirius for its failure to pay for its use of sound recordings released more than 41 years ago (see RAIN here).

Federal law didn’t protect sound recording copyrights until 1972 (older recordings are protected by state laws — and yesterday’s suit cites California law). As such, Sirius hasn’t paid for licensed use of these songs, which reportedly account for 10% to 15% of its programming, according to SoundExchange.

The New York Times covers the story here, The Verge here.