Jay-Z Hit With Lawsuit By Music Publishers

By: Yves Erwin Salomon

The 40/40 Sports Bar in midtown Manhattan was hit with a federal lawsuit by BMI for allegedly failing to pay millions in royalties. The New York Post reports that music publishers representing Michael Jackson, R. Kelly, Kanye West, and others filed the lawsuit after 40/40 failed to license the music it uses to entertain bar patrons.

According to the lawsuit, the club and its owners are guilty of "unauthorized public performance of musical compositions." Jay-Z wasn't named in the lawsuit but his business partners, Desiree Gonzalez and Juan Perez, who handle the day-to-day operations of the bar, were.

A BMI researcher visited the night spot twice in March of 2006 and discovered that the music was being used without the appropriate licensing. BMI is seeking unspecified damages for copyright infringement.

40/40's lawyer, Michael Shen, had no comment as he hadn't receive the legal documents relative to the lawsuit yet.