No good deed goes unpunished. Or at least no profitable act disguised as a good deed goes unpunished. The Centric Group and Keefe Groups, two of several such institutions cited by Billboard, have been selling "care packages" to families of incarcerated individuals, which can include music mixtapes as part of their appeal. Universal Music is calling these agencies out on it in a new lawsuit, alleging that selling these mixtapes for profit doesn't constitute fair use and the record is owed legal restitution. Among the acts represented on the tapes are Eminem, Stevie Wonder, James Brown and Marvin Gaye.
"Defendants boast on their website that their business 'was developed to eliminate contraband,' yet the infringing copies of Plaintiffs' sound recordings and musical compositions, in which Defendants unlawfully transact and from which they unjustly profit, are contraband personified," reads the lawsuit.
The lawsuit acknowledges that there are a few entities that are legally entitles to partake in the creation of mixtapes but these groups aren't one of them. Although producers of items such as blank CD's and cassette tapes are charged a fee under the Audio Home Recording Act of 1992 to cover the cost of reproducing a copyrighted work, that doesn't allow owners of the reproduction to sell it for any value.
It looks like it will cost Centric and Keefe: Universal is aiming to get $150,000 for even song from its catalogue that was unlawfully used for a mixtape. Billboard doesn't give an indication on how many tracks that may consist of but it won't take much to add up.
As for the artists involved, Eminem and Wonder may not come down on the "gangsta" side of music but you know that they gotta feel bad for inmates who won't be getting any musical treats in the near future.
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