Saturday, February 4, 2012

Divas Gone Wild!


Sisterhood is powerful, so don't mess when Sister Sledge is in the hood. The music industry can be a sleazy affair, and its sad to see our divas fighting for their bread -- and butter! File this under "Disco Divas Get Litigious;" it's a big file, honey.

According to MSN:

R&B group Sister Sledge have launched a court battle in a bid to secure lost revenue from their digital music sales.

The group known for the hit "We Are Family" has joined with Oscar-nominated actress-songwriter Ronee Blakley to sue Warner Music Group, claiming they're owed millions of dollars in unpaid royalties.


Ronnie Blakley!!??! But I digress! Quoth MSN:

In their lawsuit, filed on Thursday, the artists claim they have lost revenue due to calculations based on sales rather than licenses.

The stars' complaint states, "Rather than paying its recording artists and producers the percentage of net receipts it received -- and continues to receive -- from digital content providers for 'licenses,' Warner wrongfully treats each digital download as a 'sale' of a physical phonorecord ... which are governed by much lower royalty provisions than 'licenses' in Warner's standard recording agreements."

Sister Sledge's suit, first obtained by The Hollywood Reporter, comes after rapper Eminem won a 2010 appeals court decision and set a legal precedent entitling copyright holders to half of the revenue from digital sales.

British rocker Peter Frampton and the administrators of late funk legend Rick James' estate have since filed similar claims.


You go, sisters! Meanwhile, the Girls Gone Wild founder has gotten litigious with Madonna. Per MSN:

Joe Francis has threatened Madonna with legal action after learning one of the tracks off her new album is called "Girls Gone Wild."

Francis, the man behind the saucy "Girls Gone Wild" TV and movie empire, has sent the pop superstar a cease and desist letter, threatening to sue her if she sings the track during her much-anticipated half-time performance.


Well, Mr Francis is certainly looking like a paper tiger at this point, folks. We all know that Madonna will be promoting her first single and club tune off her new album, MDNA, at Superbowl, and has no intention of singing "Girls Gone Wild."

In the correspondence, obtained by TMZ.com, he accuses the singer of attempting to get a "free ride on the valuable consumer goodwill and brand recognition" of his trademark. Francis' lawyer states, "Your misappropriation of my clients' trademark will not be tolerated," the article continues.

Madonna is not expected to perform the track at the Super Bowl and if she doesn't, Francis has offered her a deal so a future legal wrangle can be avoided -- Madonna must agree to negotiate an immediate licensing agreement for the use of Francis' trademark.

Can't wait to see how this turns out! It's not easy being a disco diva. Remember that.

2 comments:

  1. Puh-lease. I thought it was common knowledge that you can't trademark a title. Francis is trying to cash in big-time.

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