The National Music Publishers’ Association has filed a copyright infringement suit against Wolfgang’s Vault on behalf of several music publishers. Wolfgang’s Vault disseminates concert videos and audio recordings through multiple websites, including ConcertVault.com, Daytrotter.com and MusicVault.com, as well as YouTube.

Wolfgang’s Vault claims to hold the “largest collection of live audio and video recordings online,” however much of the content is not properly licensed. Their websites attract around 50,000 visitors per day.

“The Wolfgang’s Vault websites have profited in large part because of the significant use of unlicensed music, primarily concert footage, available on their sites,” says David Israelite, President & CEO of NMPA. “Systematic copyright infringement cannot be a business model, and it is unfortunate that Wolfgang’s Vault chose not to compensate all of the creators responsible for their content. Hopefully, this lawsuit will bring publishers and many iconic songwriters the revenue they deserve for the use of their music.”

The lawsuit is part of NMPA’s continuing effort to ensure songwriters and their music publishing partners are compensated fairly and that their rights are protected. Members of NMPA have settled claims of copyright infringement with Maker Studios and Fullscreen, both large Multi-Channel Networks on YouTube. These settlements enabled music publishers and songwriters to be compensated for past copyright infringements and license works going forward.