NMPA Sues Wolfgangs Vault For Copyright Infringement
By Andy Kahn May 27, 2015 • 11:40 am PDT
The National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA) today filed a lawsuit in U.S. Federal Court alleging copyright infringement against Wolfgang’s Vault. The NMPA claims the online live concert audio and video platform does not have proper licensing in place for the content it hosts.
Wolfgang’s Vault hosts many thousands of hours of live concert recordings which it disseminates on websites such as YouTube, Music Vault, Concert Vault and Daytrotter, among others. However, according to the NMPA, Wolfgang’s Vault does so without properly paying the songwriters and music publishers who have ownership of the hosted content.
“The Wolfgang’s Vault websites have profited in large part because of the significant use of unlicensed music, primarily concert footage, available on their sites,” said David Israelite, President & CEO of NMPA. “Systematic copyright infringement cannot be a business model, and it is unfortunate that Wolfgang’s Vault chose not to compensate all of the creators responsible for their content. Hopefully, this lawsuit will bring publishers and many iconic songwriters the revenue they deserve for the use of their music.”
The lawsuit is one of several similar actions filed by the NMPA which recently resulted in settlements with multi-channel YouTube networks Maker Studios and Fullscreen.
Wolfgang’s Vault hosts many thousands of hours of live concert recordings which it disseminates on websites such as YouTube, Music Vault, Concert Vault and Daytrotter, among others. However, according to the NMPA, Wolfgang’s Vault does so without properly paying the songwriters and music publishers who have ownership of the hosted content.
“The Wolfgang’s Vault websites have profited in large part because of the significant use of unlicensed music, primarily concert footage, available on their sites,” said David Israelite, President & CEO of NMPA. “Systematic copyright infringement cannot be a business model, and it is unfortunate that Wolfgang’s Vault chose not to compensate all of the creators responsible for their content. Hopefully, this lawsuit will bring publishers and many iconic songwriters the revenue they deserve for the use of their music.”
The lawsuit is one of several similar actions filed by the NMPA which recently resulted in settlements with multi-channel YouTube networks Maker Studios and Fullscreen.
