SoundExchange has sued a free streaming service called AccuRadio over claims the company failed to pay royalties for the music, claiming the streamer “directly harmed creators.”
In a lawsuit filed Friday in federal court in Washington, SoundExchange accused AccuRadio of violating the federal law governing how radio services pay royalties to record companies and artists for the right to publicly perform copyrighted recordings. .
SoundExchange – the not-for-profit company that collects and distributes such “legal royalties” – says AccuRadio always paid its full bill until 2016, when its payments “slowed down” and finally stopped in 2018.
“AccuRadio has directly harmed creators over the years by refusing to pay royalties for the use of copyrighted recordings,” he said. Michael Huppe, SoundExchange president and CEO said in a statement Monday. “Today, SoundExchange is defending creators through this lawsuit to protect the value of music and ensure that creators are fairly compensated for their work. We hope that AccuRadio will immediately reverse course and pay what it owes for the use of the music that is the foundation of its service.”
Founded in 2000, AccuRadio prides itself on being “the only online music streaming service curated by human beings, not algorithms.” The company offers hundreds of free, ad-supported music channels that users can further customize, including skipping songs they don't like.
According to SoundExchange, after AccuRadio stopped paying its bill, the two sides tried to negotiate a solution for years, including a so-called forbearance agreement last year in which the streamer agreed to make a down payment and then regular additional payments. However, after three months, SoundExchance claims AccuRadio breached that agreement as well.
“Defendant's cumulative underpayment — which harms SoundExchange, as well as the artists and copyright holders on whose behalf it collects and distributes royalties — continues to increase each month,” SoundExchange's lawyers write in their complaint.
In addition to demanding payment, the lawsuit seeks a preliminary injunction that would immediately compel AccuRadio to either pay or stop offering copyrighted music to its listeners.
“While the defendant has defaulted on payments due under the forbearance agreement, it continues to operate its multi-channel Internet radio service, providing access to more than a thousand pre-developed music channels and access to millions of recordings,” the suit states. “The injunctive relief is reasonably necessary to stop the defendant from abusing the statutory license and suffering further damages throughout the pendency of this litigation.”
AccuRadio did not immediately return a request for comment Monday.
