2018 may see Spotify finally going public — the streaming giant confidentially filed IPO documents with the SEC at the end of December, Axios reports. But before any of this happens, Spotify must contend with a new copyright lawsuit from Wixen, the music publisher of musicians such as Tom Petty, Neil Young, Weezer, and The Doors.
According to the plaintiff, the losses are worth at least $1.6 billion along with injunctive relief. Wixen alleges that Spotify outsourced its work to a third party licensing and royalty services provider, which was “ill-equipped to obtain all the necessary mechanical licenses,” CNBC reports.
In May 2017, Spotify offered a $43 million settlement with songwriters to try and resolve any claims that the company hadn’t paid proper mechanical licenses for song compositions.
