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Scott Stapp Has A Tip For Strippers: Pay Me
He and others are suing a Florida club over licensing fees.
by Jennifer Vineyard
Scott Stapp doesn't want his music played in strip clubs — unless he's getting paid for it.
The former Creed frontman, along with several other songwriters including Janet Jackson and Poison's Bret Michaels, are suing a Clearwater,Florida, strip club that they say is using their music without paying the required licensing fees.
Fifteen songs that Diamond Dolls is said to have used "without a license or permission to do so" are cited in the suit, filed in Florida's U.S. Middle District Court in Tampa. They include Jackson's "Black Cat," Creed's "My Sacrifice," Slaughter's "Fly to the Angels," and Poison's "Nothin' But a Good Time" and "Unskinny Bop."
Broadcast Music Inc., which collects licensing fees and then pays out royalties to artists, is also listed as a complainant. A spokesperson for the organization said BMI had tried to get the club to pay up, but that Diamond Dolls has ignored four years of phone calls and letters.
BMI sent researchers to monitor the club's music use before filing suit, a common practice in cases where clubs aren't paying licensing fees, the spokesperson said. The case should go to trial before the end of the year if Diamond Dolls doesn't pay a settlement first, the spokesperson said.
The artists ask in the suit that the club pay statutory damages and legal fees. Had Diamond Dolls paid a licensing fee, BMI said it would have amounted to less than $1,000 per year.
A representative for the club denied the charges.
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