RSSEx-Ramone Wants to Sedate Digital Sales
By Ed Oswald | Published September 21, 2007, 4:40 PM
Richard "Richie Ramone" Reinhardt filed a lawsuit on Friday, demanding $900,000 in royalties for songs purchased on the Internet by fans.
The Ramones, considered by many to be the founding fathers of the punk rock movement, helped define the harder side of late 1970s and early 1980s rock and roll. The group formed in New York in 1974 and despite several lineup changes, played strongly and toured the world for the next 22 years.
Three of the four original members of the band, Johnny, Joey, and Dee Dee, have since passed away. However, their music still commands a cult following and lives on through continuing album sales and new availability through the various digital download services.
Named in the suit are several online music retailers, including Wal-Mart, Apple, and RealNetworks. In addition, Reinhardt is suing the management and the estate of the band's lead guitarist John "Johnny Ramone" Cummings. The drummer played with the band from 1983 to 1987 and wrote six songs.
His songs included "Smash You," "Somebody Put Something in My Drink," "Human Kind," "I'm Not Jesus," "I Better Know Now," and "(You) Can't Say Something Nice."
In the suit, Reinhardt claimed that there was no agreement to sell the songs digitally, and that he had not fully signed over the rights to the songs he produced. He is also seeking an injunction to prevent the future digital distribution of his work.
Reinhardt is not the original drummer for the band. The first drummer, Tommy Ramone, moved into a production role with the group and was replaced by New York punk drummer Marky Ramone (nee Marc Bell). Reinhardt filled in for Bell who took a break from the band in the mid-80's.
Reinhardt had already filed a lawsuit in New York state court where he complained that he was not receiving a fair share of royalties. This new action was filed in federal court. The band's management and representatives for Reinhardt attempted to negotiate a settlement, but the federal lawsuit was filed after talks broke down.
Representatives for the band and the various music services named in the suit either had no immediate comment or could not be reached for comment as of press time.
He must be broke.
Score: 0
|Let me see if I got this right?
The distributors, Wal-Mart, Apple, and RealNetworks, and the RIAA, run around claiming the artists need the royalties. They sell the songs but don't forward the royalties to the artists. The blurb writers figure since the performers aren't on their most loved list, it it does Not matter.
My thought, the distributors should pay triple damages, telling lies to the purchaser is fraud!
Score: 0
|Who da hell are "The Mamones" anyway?
Score: 0
|having hard time reading i see? try to read the opening sentence of the article:
"The Ramones, considered by many to be the founding fathers of the punk rock movement, helped define the harder side of late 1970s and early 1980s rock and roll."
Score: 0
|You are an idiot.
Score: 0
|>Landfish writes: a nobody
- Yeah a nobody, He was just in the Ramones, but You, you are a level 70 Orc Druid! That's something!
Score: 0
|ouch!! a 70 Orc Druid.
Score: 0
|You are right - a musician has no rights. You should be able to download the music for free and if you buy the music, the record company should rob the money! And if the musician gets sad of this raping and start taking drugs, then you should pick on him and write tabloids and rape him again!!! I am totally with you! Down with artists!
Score: 0
|Who's he?
--->Richard "Richie Ramone" Reinhardt
Score: 0
|a nobody.
Score: 0
|Wow, you all really put down drugs for this. He's not after drug money, he's not stupid from drugs.
He's just a wh*** who wants more money. He thinks he was really a 'part' of the Ramones, which isn't anything to be proud of really.
Score: 0
|he has a purple haze all through his brain. LMAO
Score: 0
|What a loser, the guy is with the band during their worst time, writing 6 s***ty songs in 4 s***ty years. Haha, I hope they laugh this hack out of court. As a matter of fact they should let him block those six songs from the internet, no one would care.
Score: 0
|What a shame . . . the Ramones are such an awesome band.
Score: 0
|He's run out of places to get drug money!
Score: 0
|yesterdays punk / todays prat
Score: 0
|He must have smoked too much weed...... Idiot.
Score: 0
|If he'd smoked weed he wouldn't give a **** who had his songs; he'd just be damned hungry.
Score: 0
|Munchies cost money. ;-)
Score: 0
|