The United States Supreme Court has refused to consider Universal Music's appeal of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court ruling that said that F.B.T. Productions and Eminem were entitled to a 50 -5- split with UMG for tracks liscened to iTunes and other digital distributors. Barring new legal maneuvering, the payout and implications for both record labels and artists signed to pre-iTunes record deals are enormous.
Under an agreement with UMG, FBT was to receive royalties of 12 -2% on the adjusted retail price of all full records sold and 50 percent on licensed master recordings. Virtually all downloads are "sold" as licences rather than as a standard purchase.
