Fans trying to broadcast Dwight Yoakam’s “Honky Tonk Man” and “Miner’s Prayer” on Apple Music found that the songs were taken out of service, with the Warner Music Group (WMG) reportedly withdrawing the song, according to a legal complaint filed at Monday, “Despite” the country star.
Section 203 of the Copyright Act – which came into effect in the 1970s – states that artists can terminate a record company’s rights to their music 35 years after the work’s initial release. Yoakam’s first album released by a Warner Music Group label, Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc., turns 35 in March and the singer and songwriter has been preparing for that day for nearly two years.
Yoakam first notified the WMG of his intentions to recover his rights in February 2019, when he sent the initial termination notices to the company. In December 2020, he sent these notices to be registered with the United States Copyright Office. Monday’s legal complaint explains that Yoakam’s managers and legal team members have had several phone calls with representatives from the record company in the past two years – and instead of acknowledging these termination notices, the record company tried to negotiate the terms of the agreement for a ongoing relationship with Yoakam. On January 20 this year, Yoakam sent a letter requesting, once again, that the record company acknowledge the warnings. According to the lawsuit, the record company ignored the requests and tried to schedule another call to discuss alternatives.
On January 29, Yoakam sent a final letter and threatened legal action including a draft of the unofficial complaint. “Despite this, and to thwart Mr. Yoakam, the defendants’ response was that some of the works involved here would be ‘taken down’,” says the complaint. Six of the LP’s 10 songs, including “Miner’s Prayer”, were released before Yoakam’s initial contract with WMG. Just before the time to fall Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc., the latest song “Honky Tonk Man” was released along with a reissue of the older song “Miner’s Prayer” as a promotional package on January 31, 1986. So it appears that the record company is agreeing to stop profiting from certain works to avoid any potential copyright infringement, but has not yet agreed to transfer the rights back to Yoakam.
As for the other songs, the label reportedly did not reach a decision, despite having two years to consider its options. In addition, Yoakam’s team argues that there is no decision to be made, claiming that the record company has no choice. The Copyright Act covers any work “other than custom work”, which applies to work done by an employee or work commissioned for a project such as a film or compilation – and Yoakam’s team says that neither case fits applies to the star.
Yoakam’s team argues that he is “irreparably injured every day because the Defendants fail to recognize the validity of the Termination Notices”. Apart from some of his songs, he cannot earn any royalties from them. The complaint also points out that the label’s actions are preventing Yoakam from selling his intellectual property as he sees fit. (Perhaps Yoakam wants to make a deal similar to the multi-million dollar catalog acquisitions that recently benefited companies like Neil Young and Stevie Nicks.)
By removing some songs from the streaming platforms, the Yoakam team believes that the WMG is “implicitly acknowledging” the termination notices, while “refusing Mr. Yoakam’s right to explore these works himself”. The complaint continues: “Defendants, by refusing to return Mr. Yoakam’s works while refusing to exploit those same works, are essentially holding Mr. Yoakam’s copyright hostage and paralyzing Mr. Yoakam to benefit financially from their statutory right to terminate the transfer of their copyrights. ”
“The termination rights that Congress has given artists like Yoakam to regain control over their intellectual property are essential rights that should not be interfered with or delayed,” said Yoakam’s lawyer, Richard S. Busch. Rolling Stone. “We didn’t want to have to open this case, but we were forced to do so for all the reasons outlined in detail in the Complaint.” WMG representatives did not immediately respond to Rolling Stonerequest for comment from.