Marlin, a group representing thousands of indie labels have sued the new MySpace for using thousands of its labels songs without permission. Marlin claims that more than 100 of its labels have songs on MySpace that shouldn’t be there after their deal with MySpace expired in 2011.
The New York Times reports that, Neda Azarfar, a spokeswoman for MySpace, said the company had decided not to renew its contract with Merlin, and that if songs from its member labels were still on the site, “they were likely uploaded by users” and would be removed if requested by the label.
The new MySpace was launched late last year, and just like the old one, the site lets users listen to huge numbers of songs for free. But according to a number of indie labels who are now speaking their minds, this is a “grave concern,” said William Crowley, the vice president for digital and mobile at eOne Distribution.
