(Reuters) – Sirius XM Holdings Inc on Friday said it agreed to pay five record companies $210 million to settle a lawsuit accusing the satellite radio company of broadcasting songs made before 1972 without permission and without paying royalties.
The settlement resolves claims by Capitol Records LLC, Sony Music Entertainment, UMG Recordings Inc, Warner Music Group and ABKCO Music & Records in a Sept. 2013 lawsuit over songs recorded by the likes of the Beatles, Patsy Cline, Bob Dylan, Aretha Franklin, Jimi Hendrix and the Rolling Stones.
It ends part of a long-running battle between the music industry and broadcasters over the right to play songs recorded before Feb. 15, 1972.
Federal copyright law does not cover such songs, and the industry has pressured Congress to expand its royalty rights.
