Sirius XM to Pay $150 Million to Settle Lawsuit Over Artists' Royalties
June 11 2018 - 12:58PM
Dow Jones News
By Aisha Al-Muslim
Sirius XM Radio Inc. has agreed to pay $150 million to
SoundExchange Inc. to settle lawsuits alleging that the
satellite-radio giant underpaid royalties for recordings.
Sirius said it would make a one-time payment to SoundExchange, a
not-for-profit offshoot of the Recording Industry Association of
America, on or before July 7, according to a Monday filing with the
Securities and Exchange Commission. The settlement resolves claims
for recordings from Jan. 1, 2007 to Dec. 31, 2017, Sirius said.
SoundExchange, which collects performance royalties from digital
music services on behalf of record companies and artists, had sued
Sirius in 2013, alleging Sirius refused to pay for recordings made
before 1972. SoundExchange also filed a second lawsuit in December
alleging that Sirius underpaid it by understating gross
revenues.
Sirius had been setting aside the revenue generated by these
pre-1972 spins before it calculated the royalties it owes rights
holders. But SoundExchange believed Sirius should have paid
royalties on all its subscription revenue, without subtracting
older music.
Sirius, which generated $5.43 billion of revenue last year, had
more than 33 million subscribers as of March 31.
Shares of Sirius, up 40% in the past year, rose 1% to $7.32 in
midday trading Monday.
Write to Aisha Al-Muslim at aisha.al-muslim@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 11, 2018 12:43 ET (16:43 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2018 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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