Will Artists Get Paid from LimeWire Settlement?

Last week, LimeWire and the music industry reached a settlement in their almost five-year courtroom battle. According to “Getting a Slice of LimeWire’s Pie” by Ben Sisario and reports across the internet, LimeWire will be paying $105 million to the industry. This is good news for the recording industry but is it any news for artists whose material is the basis of the piracy battle? Sisario reports that artists may not see any piece of the settlement.

Of the money that came from court battles with Napster, Grokster, Kazaa, and  “other file-sharing services, little if any of that money has made its way to artists”.  The article reports the money breakdown theory presented by lawyers and executives as:

“…record companies would divide the settlement according to their market share, and keep a large portion – perhaps half – of whatever remains after paying their considerable legal expenses (the case lasted five years). The remainder would be applied to artists’ accounts, probably according to their share of sales at the label. Artists who have recouped their royalty advances should receive checks”

I’m not a music industry expert but it’s not a secret that major label artists can make very little from royalty checks. Big bank accounts are fueled largely from advances, tours, endorsements, products, and from the artists doing other work such as writing, producing, arrangement, or going independent. After $105 million is broken down between market shares, legal expenses, and then the “large portion” kept behind, the pieces being broken up amongst all artists whose music was illegally downloaded will not be a significant portion of that $105 million.  Dina LaPolt, a lawyer mentioned in the article stated: “It’s going to be the artists that make noise… They are the ones that are going to get paid”.  But what about the artists who are inactive, deceased, or left their previous label?

I understand that there is a payment structure to the recording industry that might never change, but the massacre of the illegal downloading market was marketed as a fight for the artist - I would think that artists would be considered first before the money is broken to bits. After Eminem’s lawsuit against his label changed royalty checks for artists with contracts before the rise of MP3s and now this settlement, I think the industry should be bracing for an onslaught of court battles with artists, lawyers, and estates over this settlement and overdue royalty checks.