Digital Labels & Publishers Legal Top Stories

Eminem squabble with Aftermath and Apple goes legal again

By | Published on Monday 11 October 2010

So, last year Eminem’s company Eight Mile Style sued the rapper’s record label, Universal’s Aftermath, and Apple Inc over the sale of Slim Shady’s track on iTunes.

Said tracks are sold on the Apple digital music store via their licence with Universal Music, but Eight Mile Style argued – for reasons that were never specifically explained – that Universal did not have the rights to licence Eminem’s music for download. Based on that claim, Eight Mile Style said it was due millions in damages.

The specifics of Eight Mile Style’s legal claim were never all that clear, and they were never presented in court because within a fortnight of Eight Mile launching its action an out of court settlement had been reached.

It’s now thought that either Universal or Apple – it’s not clear which – promised to pay damages of over $2 million as part of that deal. But, it would seem, Universal and/or Apple have not made good on that promise and, according to DetroitNews.com, Eight Mile Style has now filed a new lawsuit at the Detroit District court requesting a judge enforce the earlier settlement.

Should this get to court this time round, it’s not clear if the case would centre on the contractual agreement made last October or on Eight Mile Style’s original claim regarding the download rights in Eminem’s music.

Neither Universal nor Apple have commented.



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