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Orchestra may see anthem royalties
submitted by: Lisa D.
source: St. Petersburg Times, Associated Press
Date: December 18, 2001
By JOHN FLEMING
The Florida Orchestra has withdrawn its lawsuit against Arista Records over royalties from the rerelease of Whitney Houston's performance of the national anthem during Super Bowl XXV in Tampa.
"We are satisfied it will be resolved in a short period of time," said Leonard Stone, executive director of the orchestra.
The lawsuit, filed Friday, asked for enforcement of a 1991 agreement requiring the record company to pay the orchestra royalties on all sales worldwide of Houston's rendition of The Star-Spangled Banner, a patriotic hit during the Gulf War. The orchestra accompanied her performance, which caused a small flap at the time because Houston lip-synched the song at the Super Bowl. The recording was reissued after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and became a hit again, rising as high as No. 6 on the Billboard singles chart. The song had previously been rereleased in 2000 on Houston's two-CD Arista album The Greatest Hits, whose sales have topped 10-million copies.
In 1991 and 1992, the orchestra received royalty payments of about $ 100,000 from sales of the original recording. However, the orchestra has not been receiving quarterly royalty statements since mid 1992, according to its lawyer, Frank Jakes.
"Sales had tapered off by then, and that seemed to be the end of it," Jakes said. "But this recording really has had a life of its own."
Now, with the two hit reissues of the anthem, the orchestra stands to realize another handsome windfall in royalty payments. "We don't really know how much at this point, but it will probably be in six figures," Jakes said.
Proceeds from the rerelease of the single are meant to benefit Sept. 11 charities, but Jakes said the orchestra's contract with Arista stipulates that royalties must be paid.
Besides, said Stone, the orchestra itself performed a benefit in the Ice Palace at its own expense that raised $140,000 for Sept. 11 charities. "In a way, we are a part of the proceeds," the executive director said. "We did our bit for 9/11, and we did it big-time."
On Monday, Jakes talked with an Arista representative, who assured him that the matter could be resolved without legal action. "We voluntarily withdrew the lawsuit," Jakes said. "We would expect this to be wrapped up pretty quickly."
Orchestra drops lawsuit over Whitney's national anthem record
TAMPA, Fla. - The Florida Orchestra has dropped a lawsuit against Arista Records over royalties from the rerelease of a 1991 rendition of The Star-Spangled Banner it recorded with pop star Whitney Houston.
Both sides said Tuesday they are "actively working" to resolve the dispute which prompted a lawsuit on Friday. The orchestra filed a motion in Hillsborough Circuit Court Monday voluntarily dismissing the lawsuit.
"We're very hopeful it will work out real quickly," orchestra attorney Frank Jakes said.
The orchestra had filed suit seeking unspecified damages for royalties from the rerelease of Houston's rendition of the national anthem performed during 1991's Super Bowl XXV, which took place during the Gulf war. The anthem is also on Houston's greatest hits album.
Copies of the song were also rereleased following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and quickly became a hot selling single.
The lawsuit had asked a judge to enforce terms of a 1991 agreement requiring Arista to pay the orchestra royalties on all sales worldwide. The orchestra had said Arista had refused to respond to previous attempts to discuss the royalties.
The royalties could mean hundreds of thousands of dollar for the nonprofit orchestra, which cut its budget by $600,000 this year to $7.6 million and forced musicians to take a pay cut.
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