Originally Posted by Pat Hardy
Yes, you could be, so I wouldn't make such an assumption, for the lawsuit might be about the CD baby clause being abused, and you just might get an award, who knows. No harm in going to the website and filling out a form.

Pat, I'm pretty sure you don't know my history with that agreement or CD Baby. I was the very first artist from CD Baby to sign that digital distribution agreement.

Thus as someone who has close personal knowledge of the CD Baby contract, the amount of money spent on making sure it was done right, I'd say I know it pretty darn well. I also know the early history of that contract, what happened behind the scenes to make it possible and also how CD Baby stayed in the digital distribution game when it was going to dump it. That being said - I stand by my theory. I highly doubt there is any "abuse" of a clause. The lawsuit is about Spotify, not CD Baby, how was that assumption made?

Originally Posted by Pat Hardy
What I think means is that Spotify has your tunes available for streaming without having filed a compulsory license. If your tunes are being streamed, it is not likely they are paying you royalties. But, that being said, unless they are being streamed to the tune of millions, we're not talking more than pennies for most folks. I wouldn't be to concerned about it. But, who knows, the lawsuit might give you punitive damages collectively awarded to everyone in the class, so go to the website listed on the card, and do whatever it asks you to do, it wouldn't hurt, just in case some serious bucks float our way. I'm going to.

I've written the same response to several people on different websites about the whole NOI thing. I'll repeat it here: If you're not getting your NOIs for any digital services (Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer, Tidal, et al), then you have made a mistake somewhere in your metadata, registrations and your distribution chain. That is your fault, not the services. How do I know? I constantly get NOIs almost weekly. For Spotify they come from Harry Fox, from everyone else, they tend to come from Music Reports. I've asked the exact same question about who does the complaining party have distribution with - and every single time and I mean: EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. They refuse to answer. I think the reason behind that is, they're afraid to admit that they somehow f'd up. Either, screwed up the metadata. Screwed up their registration. Screwed up the contract. Something. Its not easy to dot all your I's and cross your T's as a non-signed artist. But the buck has to stop somewhere and it should stop with the artist or their management of their catalog, not the distributor, not the service. That being typed, the only thing you need to do in relation to the mentioned lawsuit is, participate or opt out. If you don't opt out, you automatically stay in.

As far as the part about not getting paid on small amounts streams - that's Just Plain Wrong. They pay on every stream, Spotify especially. But are you seeing every angle of royalty? Meaning not only the Master Right (which is what CD Baby collects), but the Writer's, the Publisher's and the Mechanicals? They all add up. Be diligent. Stay on top of your PRO. Be registered with Harry Fox and Music Reports for the Mechanicals if you own your publishing. Its your money, collect it!

Jody Whitesides
A Funky Audio Lap Dance For Your Ears!
www.jodywhitesides.com