A WEBSITE that posted digital copies of Beatles music a year before they became legitimately available has agreed to pay record companies nearly $1m to settle a lawsuit.
Court records in Los Angeles show the owner of the site, BlueBeat.com, agreed to pay $950,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by music companies EMI, Capitol Records and Virgin Records America.
A Federal judge had previously ruled that BlueBeat infringed the labels’ copyright when it sold high-quality versions of songs by the Beatles and other name acts, including Coldplay and Lily Allen, for 25 cents each.
The website posted music shortly after the release of re-mastered Beatles albums.
A trial on remaining issues is scheduled to begin today.
