Four Tet wins legal battle over streaming royalties

Electronic artist Four Tet, whose real name is Kieran Hebden, has reached a settlement with his former label Domino Records after signing over the royalties paid when his music is downloaded or streamed.

Hedben was offered a 13.5% royalty rate for streams and downloads, the same rate applied to sales of music, rather than the 50% rate applied to licensing music. 

His deal with the record company was signed before the advent of digital downloads and music streaming services.

The musician argued that digital downloads and streaming of his music should be paid at the higher rate applied to licensing deals for movies and television, in which the record company doesn’t incur the costs associated with producing physical cassettes, vinyl or CDs.

Hebden’s legal challenge was decided out of court but could set a legal precedent for contract disputes in the music business.

In a statement on Twitter, he said that Domino Records “have recognised my original claim, that I should be paid a 50% royalty on streaming and downloads, and that they should be treated as a license rather than the same as a CD or vinyl sale”.

“Hopefully I’ve opened up a constructive dialogue and maybe prompted others to push for a fairer deal on historical contracts, written at a time when the music industry operated entirely differently,” he added.

He shared images of the settlement showing that he is due to receive £56,921.08 in respect of historical income backdated to July 2017, in addition to 5% annual interest.