Four Tet secures victory in royalties battle with Domino

nme.com:

Four Tet has reached a settlement in his high-profile royalties battle with his former label Domino, securing his original claim.The producer and DJ, whose real name is Kieran Hebden, signed with Domino in 2001 for the release of his second album ‘Pause’ before going on to release ‘Rounds’ (2003), ‘Everything Ecstatic’ (2005) and ‘There Is Love In You’ (2010) on the label.But, last November, Hebden revealed that Domino had removed three of those albums (‘Pause’, ‘Rounds’ and ‘Everything Ecstatic’) in a bid to stop a legal case that he launched last August over historic downloads and streaming royalty rates.Hebden claimed that the label is in breach of contract over its 18 per cent royalty rate, which Domino applied to record sales, and that a “reasonable” rate of 50 per cent should have been given to downloads/streams.The contract between Hebden and Domino, which was signed in February 2001 long before the proliferation of streaming platforms and the first iPod, stated that record sales are subject to a royalty rate of 18 per cent.In a statement posted on social media today (June 20), Four Tet said: “I have a bodacious update on my case with Domino.

They have recognised my original claim, that I should be paid a 50 per cent royalty on streaming and downloads, and that they should be treated as a license rather than the same as a CD or vinyl sale.“It has been a difficult and stressful experience to work my way through this court case and I’m so glad we got this positive result, but I feel hugely relieved that the process is over.