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Steve Pavlovic, who founded the Australian label Modular Recordings, was involved in a pair of legal fights this year. In June, he told Billboard that Universal was forcing him out of his position at Modular, leaving him “no choice but to walk away from a company that I founded 18 years ago.” However, the Chief Justice on the highest bench of the NSW Court of Appeal recently declared that there was no proof of a “binding agreement” between Pavlovic and Universal, meaning that he holds onto his position as Director and 50% shareholder in Modular.
Pavlovic released a statement of thanks after the decision, portraying himself as an underdog fighting for justice. “I’m obviously greatly relieved that my position has been vindicated by such powerful minds,” he noted. “I regret terribly that the bands I have nurtured and adored all these years were caught in the cross-fire between Universal and I. It’s stressful to be one man staring down a corporate giant… however I felt I had no choice but to fight for myself, the label I created, and for the bands that we represent… I’m hopeful that time will heal all wounds.”
Simultaneously, a judge in the Southern District Court of New York is set to dismiss the charges in the Tame Impala royalties case. (It was alleged that the band was owed $1 million in overseas royalties.) “I’m pleased that the misunderstanding about the U.S. statutory rate for calculation of mechanical royalties has been resolved,” Pavlovic wrote. “I’m deeply sorry for any upset cause to Tame Impala… I also regret the heavy handed press coverage of this aspect of Modular’s affairs which was completely inaccurate and out of hand.”
Now Pavlovic is ready to move on: “I hope that with Universal and Modular’s respective obligations to BMG on behalf of Tame Impala now resolved that a line can finally be drawn under this unfortunate chapter.”
