VAN HALEN, LED ZEPPELIN Settle Cover Band Lawsuit

May 3, 2007

Steve Lynn of Glenwood Springs, Colorado's Post Independent reports that a former local club owner reached a $40,000 settlement Wednesday with several famous musicians — including Van Halen Music Company and LED ZEPPELIN's Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones and Patricia Bonham — who sued him for allowing cover bands to play their songs at 8150.

Steven Kovacik, former owner of 8150, called the settlement unfair.

"I don't think it's fair for one show, are you crazy?" Kovacik said.

Van Halen Music Company and the ZEPPELIN members were all named as plaintiffs in a lawsuit filed Feb. 16 that contended Kovacik allowed public performances of their songs at 8150. The lawsuit, which was filed in U.S. District Court in Colorado, named Kovacik as a defendant.

Bands like LEZ ZEPPELIN, an all-female LED ZEPPELIN cover band who played 8150 Jan. 15, 2006, should be held responsible for copyright infringement, Kovacik said.

"The band is touring, making money off of LED ZEPPELIN's music," he said. "Why should I be the one responsible to pay when LEZ ZEPPELIN is the one playing the music?"

That's not how the law works, said Alan Stewart, manager for LEZ ZEPPELIN.

If stores or concert venues publicly play songs registered with the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers — even on a stereo — they have to pay a licensing fee, he said.

Comments Disclaimer And Information

BLABBERMOUTH.NET uses the Facebook Comments plugin to let people comment on content on the site using their Facebook account. The comments reside on Facebook servers and are not stored on BLABBERMOUTH.NET. To comment on a BLABBERMOUTH.NET story or review, you must be logged in to an active personal account on Facebook. Once you're logged in, you will be able to comment. User comments or postings do not reflect the viewpoint of BLABBERMOUTH.NET and BLABBERMOUTH.NET does not endorse, or guarantee the accuracy of, any user comment. To report spam or any abusive, obscene, defamatory, racist, homophobic or threatening comments, or anything that may violate any applicable laws, use the "Report to Facebook" and "Mark as spam" links that appear next to the comments themselves. To do so, click the downward arrow on the top-right corner of the Facebook comment (the arrow is invisible until you roll over it) and select the appropriate action. You can also send an e-mail to blabbermouthinbox(@)gmail.com with pertinent details. BLABBERMOUTH.NET reserves the right to "hide" comments that may be considered offensive, illegal or inappropriate and to "ban" users that violate the site's Terms Of Service. Hidden comments will still appear to the user and to the user's Facebook friends. If a new comment is published from a "banned" user or contains a blacklisted word, this comment will automatically have limited visibility (the "banned" user's comments will only be visible to the user and the user's Facebook friends).