One Radio to pay €50,000 in royalties, local artists now chase PRS for their share
A judgement handed down by a court ordering Labour’s ‘One Radio’ to pay 50,000 for broadcasting music without paying compensation to copyrightholders, has rekindled an issue with local artists who claim to have never been paid any royalties from The Performing Rights Society Limited (PRS).
15 July 2010, 12:00am
Karl Stagno-Navarra
Karl Stagno-Navarra
1 min read
Speaking to MaltaToday shortly after Judge Gino Camilleri handed the judgment, Howard Keith, director of production house Jagged House said that it was "about time that PRS pay-up their dues to local artists who have never received a dime in rights."
In a similar judgement today, Grima Communications, former owners of XFM, were ordered to pay €7,728 in royalties to PRS, down from €28,000 previously demanded by the rights society.
Howard Keith – who is manager to popular local artists Ira Losco, Tribali and The Riffs among others – says that he has been claiming royalties for his artists for the last 15 years.
“PRS have come up with all sorts of excuses, and no money has ever been forthcoming, and their calculations are absurd,” he said, and added that PRS “just pay the foreign artists and ignore the local talent who are played over the same airwaves regularly.”
In its action for damages against One Radio, PRS claimed that from its commencement in October 1994, the station had broadcast music without a licence and without payment of royalties to the persons who held the copyright in the music.
Judge Gino Camilleri confirmed that in October 2008 the courts had found in favour of the English company and had ruled that One Radio was liable in damages.
In today's judgment the court noted that the English company had limited its actions to broadcasts made by the station between
