Sony Music Settles Copyright Dispute With Rock Musicians Including David Johansen

Sony Music Entertainment has settled a legal battle concerning copyright ownership with a group of veteran rock artists, as declared in a recent court filing on Friday, February 23. This agreement brings closure to a contentious lawsuit initiated four years ago in 2019.

Background of the Dispute

The lawsuit saw prominent figures like David Johansen of the New York Dolls, John Lyon known as 'Southside Johnny', and power-pop musician Paul Collins, amongst others, challenging the music giant. They accused Sony Music of ignoring their requests to regain rights to their own music based on established copyright laws.

The artists filed their lawsuit in February 2019, focusing on Sony Music’s alleged refusal to acknowledge their termination notices. Under Section 203 of the US Copyright Act, or the '35-year law', creators have the right to terminate transfer of copyrights 35 or 40 years after the signing of the agreement, allowing them to reclaim ownership over their works for contracts that began from 1978 onwards.

The musicians complained that their lawful notices were systematically denied by Sony, which purportedly cut off their opportunities to market their music independently or to make new deals with different record companies.

The Settlement

The specific terms of the settlement between Sony Music and the musicians were not disclosed. However, the conclusion of this lawsuit underscores a growing movement within the music industry concerning artists' rights and ownership issues.

The dispute between Sony Music and the artists reflects a wider issue as several musicians have fought against big labels for the rights to their music. Notably, other artists went up against Universal Music Group, and the Scottish group The Jesus And Mary Chain had a similar lawsuit that they settled with Warner Music Group in March 2023.

In another high-profile case, Paul McCartney achieved a settlement with Sony/ATV Music Publishing in 2017 over the rights to reclaim some of the Beatles publishing copyrights.

settlement, copyright, musicians