Time to lawyer up.
According to Hollywood Reporter, Dwight Yoakam has filed a lawsuit against his label Warner Music over the rights to the recordings of his music.
In the complaint, Yoakam alleges that he sent notices of termination pursuant to Section 203 of the Copyright Act, which allows authors to cancel copyright grants and regain rights to their works after waiting a period of time… 35 years for newer works. According to Yoakam, they tried to offer him a new deal, but give him the rights to his work, including songs like “Honky Tonk Man,” and “Miner’s Prayer.”
After following up to no avail, Yoakam filed suit on Monday seeking a declaration of his termination as well as damages for copyright infringement.
His attorney, Richard Busch at King & Ballow, released the following statement:
“The termination rights Congress gave to artists like Mr. Yoakam to gain control back over their intellectual property are essential rights that should not be interfered with or delayed. We did not want to have to file this lawsuit, but we were forced to so for all of the reasons set forth in detail in the Complaint.”
As of right now, “Miner’s Prayer” has been removed from Spotify, however “Honky Tonk Man” has not.
Stay tuned…
