Eminem’s publisher demands $2.2 million from Apple

Eminem’s music publisher has demanded that a (Detroit) US District Court judge enforce a $2.2 million settlement with Apple.

The request – filed by the Ferndale-based Eight Mile Style – asked the court to implement a previous ruling related to a lawsuit over downloads of

Eminem’s music on iTunes.

As Robert Snell of the Detroit News points out, it remains unclear which company is responsible for paying the settlement, although the only two defendants named in the case were Apple and Aftermath Records. 

“In the Detroit case, Eight Mile Style and Apple reached a settlement in early October 2009 following a brief trial,” explained Snell.

“The central issue was whether a record deal between Aftermath Records and an Eminem representative gave copyright licenses to the hip-hop artist’s musical compositions that allowed digital downloads through Apple’s iTunes store.”

It should be noted that the above-mentioned motion was filed just weeks after a (California) federal appeals court ruled that Eminem’s former production company (F.B.T.) was entitled to even more money generated by downloads of the rapper’s songs and ringtones.