Lawsuit Over Music Revenue Share and Settlement Period Nears 6 Years
Contract Amount Doubled in Appeal Trial
Composer and pianist Iruma (46), who celebrated his 24th debut anniversary, has won the final verdict in a contract money claim lawsuit against his former agency and will receive over 2.6 billion KRW in unpaid music streaming revenue. Yonhap News reported on the 7th that the Supreme Court's 1st Division (Presiding Justice Seo Kyunghwan) confirmed the lower court's partial ruling in favor of Iruma in the appeal trial of the contract money claim lawsuit filed against Storm Music last month on the 14th.
Previously, Iruma signed an exclusive contract with Storm Music in February 2001, but notified the termination of the contract in 2010 due to non-fulfillment of settlement obligations, leading to a full-scale lawsuit against his former agency. In the appeal trial of this lawsuit, both parties agreed through mediation to "terminate the exclusive and copyright contracts, but Storm Music will continue to pay Iruma the distribution fees such as music streaming revenue according to the contract."
However, as the two sides disagreed over the revenue distribution ratio afterward, Iruma filed a separate contract money claim lawsuit in 2018. Iruma claimed that, as specified in the amended contract with Storm Music in 2009, 30% of the music streaming revenue was his share, while Storm Music argued that since the contract had ended and circumstances changed, only the 15% stated in the original exclusive contract should apply.
Storm Music contended that just before Iruma notified the contract termination in 2010, he had entrusted his copyrights to the Korea Music Copyright Association, which reduced the company's earnings from his works, and this should be taken into account.
The first trial court ruled in favor of Iruma, stating, "The agency knew that Iruma was receiving copyright fees from the Copyright Association under the trust, yet set the distribution ratio at 30%, the same as the existing contract, during the mediation agreement." In the second trial, which proceeded after both parties appealed, the issue was when the company should distribute the revenue.
In the appeal trial, as Iruma additionally claimed unpaid settlements, the court recalculated the music streaming revenue from 2014 to the first quarter of last year. Accordingly, the total contract money Storm Music must pay increased to 2.64 billion KRW. Storm Music objected, but the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal.
Iruma is a popular composer and pianist among the public, having conducted world tours starting last year in Australia and New Zealand, followed by South Korea, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, France, the UK, Germany, and more. He began learning piano at age five and went to study in the UK at age ten in 1988. He attended the prestigious Purcell School of Music in the UK and studied under the modern music master Harrison Birtwistle at King's College London.
He released his first album, 'Love Scene,' in 2001, and later gained worldwide acclaim with 'When the Love Falls,' featured in the KBS drama 'Winter Sonata.' Since then, he has composed over 200 songs and recorded 2 billion streaming views. In 2016, 2017, and 2018, he performed on world-renowned stages such as New York's Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, and the Sydney Opera House.
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