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Prince gets tribute album for birthday and promptly sues

26 June 2008 16:03 by Rich "vurbal" Fiscus | 31 comments

Whatever else you can say about Prince he seems to be very consistent. In the past he's been vigilant in protecting the rights granted him as a copyright holder, and even gone so far as to make up a few rights of his own. Now he's going after a record label in Norway for a 5 CD tribute recorded in honor of his 50th birthday.

C+C Records is the offending label, and they do actually seem to be in violation of copyright law. Apparently they were under the mistaken impression than since they weren't making a profit from the sale of the limited edition release no royalties were owed. While it seems likely they still owe Prince the small mechanical royalty for each song, that's not what he's after, or at least not the only thing.

Instead he's suing to have every copy of the album destroyed. It's not necessarily surprising that Prince would attempt to claim rights over his work that he just doesn't have. Previously we've told you about how he's used the DMCA to have videos removed from YouTube that were either a clear case of fair use or simply owned by someone else.

Ironically the suit was actually prompted by a gift from C+C owner Christer Falck. Although he didn't understand royalty laws he did feel compelled to present a copy to the artist being honored. It was the first time Prince had heard of the project, and he apparently wasn't flattered.

Permalink to this article | Topic: Lawsuits & Legislation

Universal claims fair use is fair game for DMCA takedown (21 July 2008)

Mom fights music giant over DMCA takedown notice (19 July 2008)

Library of Congress report is critical of DMCA (19 July 2008)

Lionsgate and YouTube strike an ad-sharing deal (17 July 2008)

Music industry veterans see the upside of album leaks (12 July 2008)

Radiohead and Prince in fight over copyright (1 June 2008)

Prince sends takedown notices to fan sites (7 November 2007)

Woman takes on Prince over DMCA takedown (30 October 2007)

Prince sues YouTube, The Pirate Bay and eBay (13 September 2007)

Prince offers his music for free and music retailers scoff (1 July 2007)

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Discuss this article!	There are more user comments available, read them here
atomicxl (Newbie) 26 June 2008 18:49
Wow @ some of the responses. I'm glad he sued. Its his music. People saying or suggesting that artists shouldn't be allowed to have a say in how their music is used baffle me. [ + quote]
JRude (Junior Member) 26 June 2008 19:28
I have Prince CD's...I actually like much of his music. Even tho he seems to have lost his way somewhere with his antics, he DOES have a right to protect distribution of media that may limit his capacity to gain financially through lost sales. Destroy them? Impractical. But compensation is due..perhaps even damages. [ + quote]
Azuran (Newbie) 26 June 2008 19:28
Prince is a savage and anyone who says otherwise is just insecure or simply has poor taste. He has every right to sue these guys. [ + quote]
SDF_GR (Member) 26 June 2008 19:49
he/she or maybe "it" already has few fans, that just will make them fewer. Well done princess. [ + quote]
windsong (Junior Member) 26 June 2008 22:28
Think I'll go and grab some prince discographies on emule just for spite. [ + quote]
tripplite (Senior Member) 26 June 2008 23:03
what this you guys like my music SOO much your gonna make an album about it???? well i disagree...the only thing i care about is the money....SO DONT YOU EVER try and make my music more popular.....because im not in the business for the music......geeezz -tripplite [ + quote]
7thsinger (AfterDawn Addict) 26 June 2008 23:12
*Yawn Is this what it sounds like when doves cry? Or when whatever fanbase you have left dissipates? [ + quote]
area_51 (Newbie) 26 June 2008 23:36
LoL This is good stuff. [ + quote]
ivymike (Junior Member) 27 June 2008 0:23
What I want to know is what torrent site to go to so I can download it. [ + quote]
ivymike (Junior Member) 27 June 2008 0:23
What I want to know is what torrent site to go to so I can download it. [ + quote]
xSModder (Junior Member) 27 June 2008 1:28
i'm surprised at some people denying how ridiculous this is it may be his music, but I mean damn! royalties? the guy's probably got 5 times as much as all the users on afterDawn combined and he's worried about compensation? ridiculous, just ridiculous.. [ + quote]
lxfactor (Senior Member) 27 June 2008 1:43
OLD guy wants to make more money despite being old and worthless.. [ + quote]
ripxrush (Newbie) 27 June 2008 1:50
it wont change a thing, it seems like all his fans are saying that he should sue & everyone else says he shouldn't! I don't care for him personally & everyone has the right to like who they want, he has the right to sue i think but i still think he is a pompous dick! [ + quote]
Sooner26c (Newbie) 27 June 2008 12:11
I may have heard Prince's music, I sure wouldn't recognise it if I did, I don't know if I'd even like it or not. But as Prince is being difficult and making an issue out of an unauthorised tribute album... Quick! Somebody hurry up and post the lot to BitTorrent and let's all download it, whether we like the music or not. Make copies and leave them in places whilst you're out and about. He'll never get all the copies destroyed. [ + quote]
pirkster (Junior Member) 27 June 2008 14:03
*Originally posted by atomicxl:* Wow @ some of the responses. I'm glad he sued. Its his music. People saying or suggesting that artists shouldn't be allowed to have a say in how their music is used baffle me. I completely agree! They didn't bother asking him if they could do it, and he obviously didn't want it done in the first place. NOBODY can reproduce his music in a way that does it justice, other than the handfull of folks he purposefully wrote music for (Sinead O'Connor, Bangles, etc). Prince is a one of a kind talent. Good for him if he's wanting to stop this kind of garbage that's nothing more than an insult to his music disguised as "charity" or "tribute." If it were truly as such, they would have gotten proper permission to begin with. Since they didn't you can only assume it's garbage and they knew he'd never agree to that tripe. [ + quote]
bandoogie (Junior Member) 27 June 2008 17:19
These people aren't making any money off the cd's. If Prince wants to claim whatever little royalties, then it is his right, but to have every copy destroyed, isn't that a bit harsh? So is the company supposed to track down every one they made? Anywho, you reap what you sew. If you want to be greedy and a grouch for no reason, it'll come back to you. [ + quote]
B33rdrnkr (Newbie) 27 June 2008 18:59
If the guy would have given prince a blow job I bet he wouldn't have minded... [ + quote]
varnull (AfterDawn Addict) 27 June 2008 19:08
AFAIK.. so long as you promise to pay the royalties the writer can't stop you releasing recordings of their published songs.. or does the music publishing business not exist these days.. check this out... *Quote:* Once the song has been recorded and publicly distributed, however, compulsory licensing kicks in and everyone who wants to cover (record) the song can do so without your specific permission. They are required by law to pay you a statutory royalty rate, however, as well as notify you that they're going to release it, and send you monthly royalty statements http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/music-royalties2.htm sings "the bastard son (or daughter.. it's hard to tell) of Gene Simmonds" (anybody else remember half man half biscuit?) hehehe.. it fits the tune too. Free open source software = made by end users who want an application to work. Im going outside now.. and I may be some time........ [ + quote] This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 27 June 2008 19:19
Tashammer (Newbie) 27 June 2008 20:28
Prince is 50? Good grief, old git inni? Wait a minute, i am older than him so stick that up ya! (Gawd i'm old, sigh). Anyway, before i turn to dust, what Prince really needs is some attention the sort, for example, that may be received by inserting a porcupine up ones arse and then rotating it. Yes, that oughta fix him. Oh the porcupine has to be fitted with a breathing mask - we don't need unnecessary cruelty do we now? [ + quote]
7thsinger (AfterDawn Addict) 27 June 2008 21:42
I know this is a little OT but, i thought he was aptly named the nameless symbol (legally) now? Learn To Backup DVDs Here And Here. [ + quote]
Tashammer (Newbie) 27 June 2008 22:31
*Originally posted by 7thsinger:* I know this is a little OT but, i thought he was aptly named the nameless symbol (legally) now? that makes him sound like something that has been poorly erased which, if you think about it, is quite a good idea. [ + quote]
o0cynix0o (Newbie) 28 June 2008 2:42
*Originally posted by 7thsinger:* I know this is a little OT but, i thought he was aptly named the nameless symbol (legally) now? He changed his name to that stupid symbol when he was having some kind of dis agreement with his record label. Something about the way they were using his music, I think he changed his name back when he finally got his way. [ + quote]
dablur (Newbie) 28 June 2008 3:00
Well they kind of deserve being sued if they didn't even ask for permission to make a 5CD "tribute album." *Quote:* Oh here... we made a FIVE DISK box set..of all your best work to date.. in your honorary .. (and we're selling it.. but we're gettin all the money...) [ + quote] This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 28 June 2008 3:12
davidrose (Junior Member) 28 June 2008 8:06
*Quote:* Well they kind of deserve being sued if they didn't even ask for permission to make a 5CD "tribute album." *Quote:* Oh here... we made a FIVE DISK box set..of all your best work to date.. in your honorary .. (and we're selling it.. but we're gettin all the money...) That's just it .... [ + quote]
djgizmo (Junior Member) 28 June 2008 11:19
They ONLY deserved to be sued for the royalties owed. Remember this 5 disc album is RECORDED from scratch. That means they took the lyrics of the original songs and had another artist sing them. Do you know what this is called? It's called cover songs. 1000's of bands play songs from other bands at live gigs. Most don't pay royalties for them. However, when a artist RECORDS songs taken from another band/artist, they are ONLY under the requirement to pay MINIMAL royalties during the lifetime of the album. [ + quote]
atomicxl (Newbie) 30 June 2008 8:42
Prince is the same guy who fought for years against his label to get back control of his masters. He was one of the first people to sell an album over the internet without the help of a major label and have success at it. If anybody else had done that, they'd be praised (Check out the Joss Stone, Radiohead, and Kid Rock posts). Prince does all of this and maintains control of the music he made, not some corporate record label and yet he's the anti-christ. Its funny how quickly opinions can change. [ + quote]