BMI Sues Ala. Radio Station for 3 Claims of Willful Copyright Infringement

An Arab, Alabama, radio station and its owner are liable for three claims of willful copyright infringement, based on their unauthorized public performance of musical compositions from the BMI repertoire, BMI and four music publishers alleged in their complaint Thursday (docket 1:24-cv-00847) in U.S. District Court for Northern Alabama. All the claims for copyright infringement joined in the lawsuit “are governed by the same legal rules and involve similar facts,” the complaint against Fun Media, operator of WAFN-FM, and its owner, Michael St. John, said. BMI has reached out to the defendants more than 80 times since March 2021 to educate them about their obligations under the Copyright Act and “the necessity of purchasing a license for the public performance of musical compositions” in the BMI repertoire, the complaint said. Included in the correspondence were cease and desist letters, providing WAFN-FM and St. John with formal notice that they must “immediately cease” all use of BMI-licensed music, it said.