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Business News Digital Labels & Publishers Legal
YouTube star Michelle Phan counter-sues Ultra Records
By Andy Malt | Published on Monday 22 September 2014
YouTube star Michelle Phan has counter-sued Ultra Records, following a lawsuit launched by the label accusing her of using its music in her videos without permission.
As previously reported, Ultra is suing for allegedly uncleared use of a number of tracks it released and/or published, seeking $150,000 for each infringement. One of the tracks included in the lawsuit was ‘4am’ by Kaskade. However, the producer criticised the label after news of the litigation broke in July, and tweeted a message of support to Phan, saying: “You’re awesome. You’ve turned millions of people on to my music. Which, ironically, I cannot say for my label”.
According to Variety, Phan launched her own retaliatory legal action last week, claiming that she received permission to use music released by Ultra in 2009 in exchange for promoting iTunes links for the tracks on her videos – something arguably worth having, as she has accumulated more than 150 million plays on her account and has more than seven million subscribers.
Her claim states that a senior member of staff at Ultra said that they were “more than happy to let you use this content”. She adds that by suing her and issuing takedown notices against twelve of her videos, the company has acted “with fraud, oppression and malice”.
Phan is seeking a court ruling that she received a non-revocable licence from Ultra and is within her rights to use the label’s music in her videos.