Lawsuit Targets Lyric Download Sites

On August 24, 2009, several music publishers filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against LiveUniverse Inc., which operates LyricsDownload.com, CompleteAlbumLyrics.com, and lyricsandsongs.com, and Motive Force, which operates LyricWiki.org. Reportedly, this is the first lawsuit filed by music publishers for digital piracy of song lyrics.

Does the Music Industry Have a Legitimate Claim?

Yes! Posting and distributing lyrics without permission can be copyright infringement – as I explained in a previous blog post entitled Can You Post Lyrics on Your Website? A Few Services that Make It Legal. While quotes of a few lyrics on a fan site or music-related site might in certain circumstances qualify as a fair use or alternatively might escape the attention of music publishers, music publishers have recently taken action to clamp down on large-scale unauthorized distribution of song lyrics.

According to the complaint, LiveUniverse and Motive Force display lyrics on their own sites, distribute lyrics to other websites, and encourage their online visitors to upload additional lyrics. While neither LiveUniverse nor Motive Force charge for the distribution of lyrics, each monetizes the unauthorized lyrics by selling advertising on their respective websites.

Predictions

If the allegations in the music publishers’ complaint are true, I predict (i) LiveUniverse and Motive Force quickly signing up for licenses from the publishers or (ii) an eventual shutdown of the LiveUniverse and Motive Force lyric download sites. Music publishers participating in the lawsuit include Peermusic, Warner/Chappell, Bug Music, Inc., Windswept Holdings LLC and Hitco Music Publishing.

Comments

[Cathy]

If it wasn't for lyric sites the music companies would be getting even *less* of my money. I've got a decent collection of CDs and almost exclusively listen to podcasts now so it's rare that I acquire any new music. However, occasionally I'll hear a song at a sporting event, in a store, or on a TV show that piques my interest and my first stop, after writing down the snippet of lyrics that I was able to catch, is Google. The second stop is the iTunes store. If I can't figure out what the song is then I'll probably stop buying music altogether save the new albums from one or two of my favorite artists.

I guess I can understand the publishers point of view but, seriously? This isn't the same as posting the full text of a novel online.