Ladies and Gentlemen:
We are the attorneys for Madeleine Peyroux, an exclusive recording artist for Rounder Records. Rounder recently advised us that echomusic.com is currently taking pre-orders for a $15.99 compact disc entitled "William Galison: Got You On My Mind", described on your website as "featuring William Galison and Madeleine Peyroux" (the "Album"). Your website also includes a photograph of Ms. Peyroux, which appears to represent the cover of the Album . The echomusic.com website page offering this compact disc is accessed through a prominent link on the website "www.williamgalison.com" (the "WG Website"), which also contains more detailed information concerning this release.
We are writing to advise you that sales of the Album by echomusic.com and the WG Website have not been cleared with Ms. Peyroux, and are violative of Ms. Peyroux's rights, including without limitation, her ownership rights in seven of the recordings on the Album (the "Masters"), her authorship rights in a composition on the album (the "Composition"), and rights to the use of her name, likeness and biographical material in connection with the advertising and sale of the Album. Such sales would also interefere with the contractual relations of Ms. Peyroux and Rounder Records.
Specifically, the proposed exploitation of the Album violates the terms of the agreement between Ms. Peyroux and the co-owner of the Masters restricting and limiting commercial exploitation to sales of compact discs embodying solely the Masters at Ms. Peyroux's live performances. Further, the Album appears to embody the Masters coupled together with additional masters which have not been reviewed or approved by Ms. Peyroux.
The WG Website and echomusic.com page also embody Ms. Peyroux's name and unauthorized likeness (and the WG Website contains unauthorized biographical information) to advertise and promote the Album.
These WG Website and echomusic.com webpages create the false impression that Ms. Peyroux had a hand in creating the coupled Album, supports its proposed exploitation, and approves of the WG Website and echomusic.com use of her name, likeness and bio to advertise and promote sales.
The WG Website also contains an inaccurate sound recording copyright notice which fails to identify Ms.Peyroux's ownership interest in the Masters. Finally, as Ms. Peyroux has not cleared these proposed uses of the Masters, the Composition and her name, likeness and bio, the WG Website and echomusic.com would be unjustly enriched by any proceeds derived from the proposed sales of the Album.
Accordingly, please confirm to the undersigned within 5 days from receipt of this notice that echomusic.com will cease offering to sell the Album, and will notify any persons ordering or seeking to order the Album that it is not available through echomusic.com.
In the event echomusic.com fails or refuses to do so, we reserve the right to take all actions as may be necessary to preserve and protect our clients rights and remedies in connection with these matters, all of which rights and remedies are hereby expressly reserved.
Sincerely,
BELDOCK, LEVINE & HOFFMAN LLP,
Attorneys for Madeleine Payroux and Pennywell Publishing (BMI)
By: Jeffrey A. Greenberg
Beldock Levine & Hoffman LLP
99 Park Avenue - Suite 1600
New York, NY 10016
(212) 490-0400 Main
(212) 277-5837 Direct
(212) 557-0565 Fax
In this letter, your lawyer Jeffrey Greenberg threatens to take legal action against my distributor, EchoMusic, if they don’t stop selling our CD. He writes that the sale of GYOMM is “violative of Ms. Peyroux's rights, including without limitation, her ownership rights in seven of the recordings on the Album (the "Masters"), her authorship rights in a composition on the album (the "Composition").”
As Greenberg knows, (unless he is hopelessly incompetent) because I am the co-owner of the CD, my selling the CD is NOT violative of your ownership rights. He also knew when he wrote this letter, that you and I were co-authors of the song “Playin”, so that your “authorship rights” are not violated either.
