LOS ANGELES, May 18 (UPI) -- A California record company is suing various U.S. and Canadian entities for more than $200 million for alleged music piracy.
Artist-run Sybersound Records of Malibu, Calif., filed suit in Los Angeles against six U.S. companies and a Montreal company that make karaoke machines, the South Florida Business Journal reported Wednesday.
Sybersound, which says it gets karaoke synchronization licenses from publishers for all songs it releases on its albums and pays royalties for all units sold, says its competitors have failed, unlawfully, to license competing karaoke records and have underreported sales to publishers as a way of selling product below cost and undercutting Sybersound's pricing.
"This has plagued the karaoke business for a long time," says Jan Stevens, Sybersound chief executive.
"We've always been scrupulous about paying writers for the use of their songs, and have expected that our competitors would do the same. It's time for the rest of the industry to do the right thing and we hope that our lawsuit will help make this happen."
