Music Publishers File Lawsuits Against Top Lyric Sites, Release New Unlicensed Site Ranking
The National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA) today announced that it has filed lawsuits against SeekLyrics.com and LyricsTime.com, two unlicensed lyric sites that it says have refused to license or remove infringing content. The NMPA has also sent takedown notices to additional unlicensed lyric sites, all identified by Cracker leader, songwriter and University of Georgia researcher David Lowery.
Lowery today also released an updated list of top unlicensed lyric websites that profit from advertising revenue, but do not compensate songwriters. There are over 5 million searches daily for “lyrics” on Google alone, and over 50% of all lyrics pageviews worldwide are on unlicensed sites. These sites often profit from ads for major brands secured through prominent advertising exchanges.
Last November, the NMPA sent notices to 50 unlicensed lyric websites, including the two named in today's lawsuit.Of those 50 sites, 11 have licensed, 11 have removed infringing content and others are discussing resolutions.
