Beatles settle royalties dispute

\'It was settled on mutually acceptable terms last month,\' Apple Corps and EMI said in a joint statement. The Globe and Mail reports that Apple Corps Ltd., the company owned by Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and the widows of John Lennon and George Harrison, sued EMI Group PLC in 2005 to recover what the band said was more than $67m in unpaid royalties. The Beatles have consistently refused to license their songs for music download sites, despite the desire of EMI to do so. The legal settlement leaves EMI and Apple Corps free to negotiate a new royalties agreement that would include Internet sales. Full report in The Globe and Mail

Staying with copyright issues, the US Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) has upheld its earlier decision on fair royalty rates to be paid to musical artists and record labels for the use of their work on Internet radio. According to a Playfuls.com report, the three-judge panel denied motions by Internet radio operators for a rehearing of the Board\'s March 1, 2007 decision setting performance royalty rates for Internet radio from 2006 to 2010. The CRB wrote in its decision, \'...none of the moving parties have made a sufficient showing of new evidence or clear error or manifest injustice that would warrant rehearing. To the contrary ... most of the parties\' arguments in support of a rehearing or reconsideration merely restate arguments that were made or evidence that was presented during the proceeding.\' Barry Bergman, President of the Music Managers Forum-US, said: \'For many artists a royalty cheque can mean the difference between continuing to create new and exciting music for a living, or allowing musical talents to be silenced. In recognising the value musical artists bring to the success of Internet radio, the CRB has taken a necessary step in helping to ensure that many artists are able to continue using their special talents which are enjoyed by all.\' Full Playfuls.com report

In other copyright news, Microsoft\'s senior lawyer has warned Apple Computer not to complain too loudly to record labels about music copyright restrictions, saying the computer giant was already selling plenty of iPod music players. Brad Smith, senior vice-president and general counsel at the US software giant, said: \'I think they\'re (Apple) doing pretty well from what I can tell. In fact I think the music companies are the ones who right now are doing a little less well.’ The Star notes that Apple CE Steve Jobs recently caused a stir when he urged record labels to abolish security software that prevents music bought online from being played on different types of MP3 players. Full report in The Star