Eagles members sue 'bootlegger' for allegedly screening unlicensed footage
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Version 0 of 1. Members of the Eagles are suing a man who has spent years showing rare bootlegs of some of the world’s most famous musical artists. William Shelley, who has held public events screening unreleased footage by acts like the Eagles, the Rolling Stones, Fleetwood Mac and Pink Floyd, is accused of violating copyright and breaking US anti-bootlegging laws. Don Henley and Glenn Frey filed their lawsuit in Brooklyn federal court, seeking unspecified damages from Shelley and his company, Shelley Archives. They allege the Long Island resident used his collection of films to falsely “bolster his reputation as a purported music industry ‘insider’ with close connections and ties to many classic rock greats,” the New York Daily News reported, and accused him of becoming rich from the unauthorised use of their work. According to their official bio, the Shelley Archives owns more than 100,000 reels of 35mm and 16mm films, amounting to more than 10,000 hours of rare concerts, television shows, promos, interviews, outtakes and home movies. “Preservation of films and music clips is the main focus of the organization,” they said. Shelley himself began shooting concert films in the 1970s, filming acts such as Twisted Sister and Joan Jett. He claims to have befriended members of Public Enemy during their early days as Spectrum City, earning the nickname Dollar Bill. More recently, Shelley has presented events like Fleetwood Mac: Rare Performances 1960s-1980s and The Rolling Stones 1964-1975: The Brian Jones and Mick Taylor Years. These ticketed screenings usually combined unreleased music footage with Shelley-hosted question and answer sessions. Lawyers for Henley and Frey say they sent Shelley a cease-and-desist order regarding an October screening where unlicensed Eagles footage was allegedly shown to a Connecticut crowd. Shelley purportedly “refused” the musicians’ demands, prompting the federal lawsuit. They are now asking the court to seize Shelley’s entire film archive. Henley and the Eagles are notoriously litigious when it comes to their music copyrights. In the past five years, Henley has sued or threatened to sue Frank Ocean, Okkervil River and a Republican candidate for the US Senate over their unauthorised use of his songs. “They don’t understand the law,” Henley told Sydney’s Daily Telegraph. The Eagles have sold more than 150m albums worldwide, making them one of the richest musical acts of all time. |