3 Count: And One More…

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1: George Lopez Joins Growing Group of Comedians Suing Pandora for Copyright Payments

First off today, Josh Dickey at The Wrap reports that comedian George Lopez has added his name to the list of comics targeting Pandora over allegations that the streaming service did not pay royalties for the written material their recorded routines are based from.

The lawsuits were filed earlier this year and featured comedians alleging that, though Pandora paid royalties for the recorded version of their routines, they did not pay royalties on the composition, something Pandora does for music that is streamed.

Since the initial lawsuits were filed, comedians have been adding their name to it, and George Lopez has become the latest big name to do so. According to his filing, Lopez had 117,000 monthly listeners totaling at least 1,404,000 broadcasts or interactive streams per year. For those streams, Lopez says he “has not received a fraction of a penny.”

2: ‘Electric Avenue’ Musician Seeks to Depose Trump Campaign Social Media Director About Using Song in Ad That Mocked Joe Biden

Next up today, Matt Naham at Law & Crime reports that musician Eddy Grant is seeking to depose the social media director of the 2020 President Trump campaign over allegations the that the campaign illegally used one of his songs in an ad mocking Trump’s opponent, President Joe Biden.

Grant claims that the Trump Campaign used one of his songs, Electric Avenue, as part of a 55-second animated clip that was uploaded to Trump’s Twitter account. President Trump himself has already been deposed in this matter, but attempts to depose Dan Scavino, the social media director for the campaign, have been met by repeated delays.

However, those delays may be continuing as the judge has approved what is now a third extension. This one was requested by the Scavino as he claims to have only learned several key details in the case over the past few days.

3: Calvin Theatre sued for copyright infringement

Finally today, Dusty Christensen at the Daily Hampshire Gazette reports that the Calvin Theater, located in Northampton, Massachusetts, has been sued by the American Society of Composters, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) over allegations that the theater has refused to pay a license for ASCAP-licensed music but continued to play the music.

According to ASCAP, the theater entered into a licensing deal with ASCAP in 2001, however, this year, the theater failed to pay its license despite two letters of notice. ASCAP claims it terminated its license in April, even though the theater continued to play at least six ASCAP-licensed songs.

This is not the theater’s first brush with legal trouble. Recently, it was ordered to pay more than $100,000 in restitution to underpaid employees. As for ASCAP, they are seeking statutory damages between $750 and $30,000 for each of the six identified works.

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