Fight Over Money From Beatles Tribute Tour
Two companies behind a Beatles musical revue claim in court that proceeds from the "Rain - A Tribute" tour should not be "held hostage" by their partners because of a separate copyright dispute. MagicSpace Entertainment and Rain Corp. claim they are owed nearly $410,000 from ticket and merchandise sales for performances in April and May 2013 and for taxes paid in 2012.
But defendants Jeff Parry, Nirenna Productions LP and 2468 Nevada LLC "wrongfully conflated the withholding of the money owed plaintiffs ... with resolution of the issues at the heart of the copyright action," the companies claim in a complaint in Westchester County Supreme Court. "The instant action is a simple case regarding the failure by the defendants to make payment of monies owed the plaintiffs for services provided from the 'Rain - A Tribute' tour of April and May 2013 pursuant to New York State law," the plaintiffs say. Rain Corp., of Reno, Nev., and MagicSpace, of Salt Lake City, are in the business of producing live entertainment events. In "Rain - A Tribute to the Beatles," they stage "a live, multimedia spectacular" that is "the next best thing to the Beatles," according to the Rain - A Tribute website. The production, which played on Broadway for 9 months in 2010-11, toured North America and Europe with shows featuring Beatles songs played by mop-haired musicians in period costumes. The website lists shows this month in Toronto, next month in Minneapolis and in June in Philadelphia.
Source: Courthouse News Service
