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Legal
Springsteen disses ASCAP pub litigation
By CMU Editorial | Published on Friday 5 February 2010
Well, the last time Bruce Springsteen got angry about something, Ticketmaster was forced to change its entire policy regarding the linking of its secondary ticketing service Tickets Now with its main ticketing website, so who knows what will happen this time.
Springsteen has formally distanced himself from a lawsuit being pursued by US collecting society ASCAP against a New York bar, even though he is named as a plaintiff on the legal paperwork. The collecting society are suing Connolly’s Pub & Restaurant because its alleged they let an unidentified band perform two Springsteen songs at the venue back in August 2008 without having the appropriate performing rights licence from the collecting society.
But Springsteen said yesterday that he was not aware of the lawsuit, filed in a US court on Wednesday, that he did not agree to be a plaintiff and that his legal people have demanded his name be removed from the action. Presumably ASCAP can and will proceed with the legal action without Springsteen’s involvement, though given how everyone loves to hate collecting societies, having such a major artist dissing the agency – which exists, after all, to protect his and other artists’ interests – presents another PR challenge for the society and the wider royalties collecting sector.
