Weird Al Yankovic Sues Sony Music for $5 Million, Cites Royalty Underpayments
Singer Weird Al Yankovic is suing his record label Sony Music for $5 million, claiming he's received fewer royalties than he deserves.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, the singer -- through his own company Ear Booker Enterprises -- says Sony Music took duplicate recoupments which led to smaller royalty payments than Yankovic merited. The suit also claims Sony is giving the musician a "straight royalty" rather than half of the download sale revenues promised in a licensing deal.
The lawsuit goes on to state that by providing content for YouTube, Sony Music acquired an equity stake in the company, thus "a portion of Sony's equity share in YouTube is directly apportionable and allocable to 'White & Nerdy,'" the popular Yankovic YouTube video which has received nearly 70 million hits since posted two years ago.
The lawsuit claims Sony Music hasn't shared monies following settlements with sites Napster, Grokster and Kazaa.
The suit was filed in the Southern District of New York's Federal court by firms Gordon, Gordon & Schnapp of New York and Nashville firm King & Ballow. The Nashville firm representing Yankovic successfully sued Universal Music Group on behalf of Eminem and other artists for using downloads as sales, not as a license.
Yankovic made no comment on the suit on his official site, Facebook or Twitter. The singer's new web series Face to Face with 'Weird Al' Yankovic debuts tomorrow with new episodes showing every second Tuesday. The musician is also mounting another round of dates on his Alpocalypse Tour which kicks off later this month in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Sony Music has also not commented on the suit.
Watch Weird Al "Poka Face"
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