Pharrell's rep threatens YouTube with $1 billion lawsuit
A lawyer who represents Pharrell Williams, as well as dozens of other musical artists, has asked YouTube to take down about 20,000 videos.
Irving Azoff, founder of the legal group Global Music Rights, says YouTube doesn't have the performance rights to songs from 42 of his clients, including Pharrell, the Eagles, and John Lennon. Azoff has threatened YouTube with a $1 billion lawsuit if it doesn't take the videos down.
As for why Azoff is targeting YouTube, rather than streaming sites like Spotify, he told The Hollywood Reporter that YouTube has been the "least cooperative" and is the "worst offender." Read the lawyers' back and forth about the videos over at THR.
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Meghan DeMaria is a staff writer at TheWeek.com. She has previously worked for USA Today and Marie Claire.
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