Earlier this week, The Performing Rights Society for Music (PRS) declared they would be taking legal action against Soundcloud. For years, they had been attempting to secure royalties on their tracks that were unlawfully streamed on Soundcloud. The streaming service did not agree to pay, and have officially declined PRs’s terms.
Now, the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers, and Authors (BASCA) has come out in support of PRS’s efforts. CEO Vick Bain acknowledges the conflict:
As an organisation that works to protect our members’ rights we fully support PRS For Music’s decision to commence legal proceedings against SoundCloud. We acknowledge that streaming is a fantastic means of listening to and enjoying music but SoundCloud’s intransigence in refusing to be licensed through PRS For Music means their model financially damages our members.
He continues:
We encourage all online services to establish frameworks that will fairly compensate songwriters, composers and authors – the PRS For Music online licence is the best way that this can be achieved. SoundCloud has had five years to respond to PRS’s request and should not be allowed to continue to hide behind safe harbour as a reason to deny our members the royalties they’re rightly entitled to.
Members of BASCA include United Kingdom’s most experienced and successful songwriters, like the Beatles.
Source: FactMag
