Victor Ochieng
You don’t have permission to share the music! That’s what Global Music Rights, an organization that manages and protects the rights of musicians, said to Google. Through the organization, some of music’s biggest names are on the verge of filing a lawsuit over the publication and sharing of some 20,000 tracks that they claim Google has no rights to share.
Their message to YouTube is very clear: Take down those songs or else.
Although the group is relatively new, it already has some famous brands like The Eagles, John Lennon, Pharrell Williams, Smokey Robinson among many others. Because of the enlistment of such music heavyweights and an experienced management team, the group is fast growing in popularity.
But there is likely to be more drama, since Google has reiterated that it has the rights to share the said songs and thus won’t be cowed into pulling them down. Oddly though, Google earns billions of dollars every year from ad revenue from these songs and popular music is among the most widely-viewed content on its platform. So, a lawsuit of this magnitude could become a real game changer.
The decision by Google not to adhere to the rallying calls to pull down the songs or reach an out of court settlement is leading to consideration of a $1 billion lawsuit against the company. The musicians, through their group, have already made it clear that failure by Google to make necessary adjustments will leave them with no option but press charges in a court of law.
Global Music Rights manager Irving Azoff, who is also a long times artist manager, has answered in the strongest terms that the musicians, through his representation, are focusing on Google because the company has been the least cooperative on rights issues. He clarified that most other music streaming companies that have been contacted by the artists have shown some level of cooperation, while Google has not.
