Amaya Toman Do you remember what you were doing in 2009? The world was then met by events such as the election of Barack Obama as US president, Croatia's entry into NATO, the start of TV Barrandov broadcasting or the visit of Pope Benedict XVI to the Czech Republic.However, this year was also the year when the popular rapper Eminem and his music label sued Apple Eight Mile Style.
According to the indictment, Apple has committed the illegal sale of ninety-three Eminem songs on its iTunes Store. It wasn't the first time Eminem had been sued over a similar matter - in 2004, the musician took issue with the way Apple used his hit song Lose Yourself in a TV ad for its iTunes service.
The dispute over the illegal sale of Eminem's songs dates back to 2007, when Eight Mile Style also filed the first lawsuit against Apple. According to the label's claims, Apple did not have proper permission from the singer to distribute the songs. When Apple signed a deal with Aftermath Entertainment, founded by Dr. Dre, the management of the company believed that the rights to digital sales of Eminem's songs were also part of this deal. Lawyers who represented the Eight Mile Style label, however, pointed out that part of Eminem's contract is a special clause, according to which special consent is needed for the digital sale of his compositions - but Eminem did not grant it to Apple.
Eight Mile Style is suing Apple for $2,58 million, which it claims is the amount of profit the company made from sales of Eminem's music. Another 150 dollars was wanted by the publishing house as compensation for individual damages - together, these sums totaled 14 million dollars. But Apple's lawyers have since discovered that the company paid Aftermath Entertainment 70 cents for each download, while Eight Mile Style's label received 9,1 cents per download from Apple. Understandably, none of the mentioned companies objected to the collection of these amounts.
The entire dispute between Apple and Eminem was eventually resolved - just like the above-mentioned lawsuit regarding the use of the song Lose Yourself - in the form of an out-of-court settlement. But the whole case became an example of the difficulties that Apple can face after entering the music market. Today, the entire conflict can be considered successfully resolved. Eminem's mentor, Dr. Dre works closely with Apple, while Eminem appeared on the Beats 1 radio broadcast, where he promoted his work.
Sources: Cult of Mac, CNET, Apple Insider
