Finding just the right music during a workout can be crucial. The best list of songs keeps one excited and motivated to finish strong. In the past, creating such a workout list meant burning favorite songs onto a CD or making a file on one’s MP3 player. These days, however, there are apps that create fresh, inspiring playlists for each workout. However, one of these apps is now embroiled in intellectual property litigation.
Apps such as Pandora pay a statutory license for the right to include the songs of popular artists on their playlists. This license places restrictions on the use of the music, including how many times a listener may skip songs. However, a new app called Fit Radio offers workout music with unlimited skips and file sharing. It is the file sharing that has raised the attention and the ire of many in the music industry.
By allowing listeners to manually select songs and share songs through their own social media, Fit Radio is apparently infringing on the copyrights of the artists’ recordings. Numerous major record labels, including Sony and Warner Bros., have filed suit requesting damages reaching $150,000 for each song used in violation of copyright law. The suit also wants the court to order the company to stop its service.
Licensing is an important tool for protecting the rights of artists to control the use of their works. When those rights are violated, it often leads to intellectual property litigation. Those in New York experiencing such misuse of their protected works can seek the valuable assistance of an attorney with experience in copyright law.
Source: hollywoodreporter.com, “Music Labels Sue Fit Radio for ‘Massive Scale’ Copyright Infringement“, Ashley Cullins, Jan 18, 2018