Rich Fiscus
2 Dec 2011 14:44
A member of the board of Dutch music collection agency Buma/Stemra has resigned in the midst of a scandal around accusations he tried to shake down a composer who was merely asking him to do his job.
Jochem Gerrits is accused of demanding Melchior Rietveldt turn over a third of his royalties in exchange for bringing the matter before the agency's board. Rietveldt's claim revolves around a piece of music he wrote for Dutch anti-piracy firm BREIN to use in a video.
Rietveldt says the music has been distributed on tens of millions of Dutch DVDs, which isn't covered in the contract he signed for the piece. He is looking for more than 1 million eurosin royalties.
It's unclear what part BREIN may have played in the music being used without authorization, but it doesn't appear they have any connection with Gerrits' actions.
Gerrits made the demand in a phone call with Rietveldt's lawyer, not realizing the call was being recorded. Although he claims his statements are being taken out of context, they seem to stand on their own.
According to TorrentFreak, when asked why the composer should share the money with him, he said, "It could be because a lot of people in the industry know that they are in trouble when I get involved."
Of course, getting involved in this sort of dispute is his job. According to DutchNews.nl, Gerrits went on to say, "You have to look at it positively, he could otherwise end up with nothing."