Domino Recordings probably didn't expect such a domino effect.
Pat Treacy, Deputy Judge at the U.K. Intellectual Property Enterprise Court, has reportedly ruled that Four Tet's breach of contract suit against Domino will be able to proceed. The full trial is set to take place towards the beginning of 2022.
Earlier this summer Four Tet sued Domino for a breach of contract, alleging the label had not paid out their agreed-upon streaming royalty rate of 50%. The label fired back and pointed to a separate clause in their contract, which was signed in 2001, that states they're only obliged to pay 75% of their standard 18%: "In respect of records sold in new technology formats other than vinyl, Compact Discs and analogue tape cassettes the royalty rate shall be 75 percent of the otherwise applicable rate."
Four Tet has now taken to Twitter again to update his followers on the status of the legal proceedings.
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"All of this music that I made is not available to stream or download anymore because @dominorecordco have removed it against my wishes," reads the tweet. "They have taken it down to try and stop the legal dispute we are involved in over the royalties they pay me."
In November Domino removed three of Four Tet's albums from streaming platforms. Four Tet was notified of the label's intentions prior to the removals, and claimed they did it in order to "stop the [legal] case from proceeding," he said in a tweet.
Four Tet's case against Domino Records is significant and could set a strong precedent for disputes in the streaming era. Four Tet and his legal team will now seek a reversion of rights to the masters for his three albums, meaning he would regain control of them. They are currently owned by Domino.
