Sirius XM Holdings Inc (SIRI)

[Easy1]

• A U.S. District judge's certification of a class-action lawsuit expands a massive headache for Sirius XM (SIRI +0.5%) -- as an action that started with members of 1960s band the Turtles now could bring in plaintiffs from any pre-1972 sound recording played on the satellite network over the past six years.
• The case was brought by Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman ("Flo & Eddie") of the Turtles (famous for No. 1 hit Happy Together) over public performance rights to the group's songs. Kaylan and Volman won summary judgment last fall that Sirius XM had violated California law.
• It's complicated to sort out song ownership, but with a plaintiff class that covers most anyone who owns a pre-1972 recording, the bill could be massive: Sirius XM reported more than $4B in revenues last year, 10-15% of that attributable to pre-1972 recordings -- and that's just one of the five years in question.
• Previously: Royalty lawsuit against Sirius XM Radio moves forward (Nov. 24 2014)
• Previously: Sirius XM will appeal California judge's copyright ruling (Oct. 02 2014)