Imro to get €216,000 for outstanding royalties

THE IRISH Music Rights Organisation is to receive some €216,000 from Pod Concerts following an agreement reached in a dispute over outstanding royalties related to music festivals going back four years, including the Electric Picnic festivals, the Commercial Court heard yesterday.

Imro had last month initiated its proceedings against Pod Concerts seeking more than €432,000 in outstanding royalties and had warned that, if the monies were not paid, it might move to restrain future live music events run by Pod Concerts.

Mr Justice Peter Kelly had adjourned the matter to see if the sides could resolve it through mediation.

Yesterday, the judge was told that, following mediation, Imro was to receive €216,198 of the sum of €432,741 lodged in court by Pod Concerts; Pod Concerts was to get a payment of €344.76 and the remaining monies were to remain in court in accordance with the mediation agreement.

Last month, Brian O’Moore SC, for Imro, said the dispute dated back to 2004 and his side had in correspondence heard “a range of excuses” from John Reynolds of Pod Concerts for the failure to return either the income details from the concerts in question or the payments themselves.

It was repeatedly stated Mr Reynolds would deal with the matter “tomorrow” but “tomorrow never comes”, counsel said.

Martin Hayden SC, for Pod Concerts, said Mr Reynolds had never refused to engage with the matter but there was no agreement on the amount of royalties and there was a difference in how events in Ireland and England were treated. There were two sides to this story, he said.