NASHVILLE, TN (CelebrityAccess) — Lou Rawls’ widow Nina Rawls has hit Paradise Artist with a lawsuit, claiming that the agency owes her and the Rawls estate millions after the agency allegedly sold his music on a number digital music platforms.
The lawsuit, filed in Federal Court in Nashville, alleges that Paradise Musicwerks, a record label/music distributor operated by Paradise, distributed two albums by the late singer-songwriter Lou Rawls to a slew of digital music platforms without authorization.
The lawsuit centers on a pair of albums recorded by Rawls — “Seasons 4 U” which he recorded on his own dime in 1998 and released through his Brokaw Records, and “Rawls Sings Sinatra” which he recorded in 2003 and which was released via Savoy Records, though not without legal controversy of its own, according to the suit.
The suit says that in February 2018, Rawls’ Estate learned that the two albums were available on a wide variety of online music platforms, including major players such as Apple Music, Spotify, and Amazon.
The suit alleges that Paradise Artists co-owners Bill Monot (incorrectly listed in the court filing as Bill Omot) and Howard Silverman admitted that they distributed the two albums to ninety-six digital music platforms in the case of “Seasons 4 U”, and 95 for “Rawls Sings Sinatra,” each of which have reported sales of the purportedly purloined music.
The plaintiffs are seeking an injunction against future distribution, as well as damages and any additional profits of the infringer under 17 U.S. Code § 504 and court costs. The suit is also seeking $13 million for the allegedly unlicensed use of Lou Rawls image in connection with the recordings since 2005.
Sources have told CelebrityAccess that there may be other artists who’ve been listed by Paradise Musicwerks without permission. A representative from the agency did not respond to a request for comment.
