Cleveland International Records

{{Short description|American record label}} {{Infobox record label  | name = Cleveland International Records | image = | founded = 1976/1977<ref name="Niesel"/><ref name="Petkovic"/> | founder = [[Steve Popovich|Steve Popovich, Sr]] | defunct = | genre = Rock, polka | country = United States | location = [[Willoughby, Ohio]]<br>[[Nashville]] | website = [https://www.ClevelandInternational.com www.ClevelandInternational.com] }}

'''Cleveland International Records''' is an [[independent record label]] formed in 1976 by [[Steve Popovich|Steve Popovich, Sr]]. originally founded in [[Willoughby, Ohio]], and moved to [[Nashville]].<ref name="Niesel"/><ref name="Petkovic"/>

==History== One of the first albums the label released was ''[[Bat Out of Hell]]'' (1977) by [[Meat Loaf]] which has sold over 40 million copies worldwide.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.jimsteinman.com/newsnotes.htm|title=Label Blew Meat Loaf's biggest|date=2007-02-28|publisher=Jim Steinman|accessdate=2009-07-06}}</ref> They have also released recordings by [[Ronnie Spector]], [[B. J. Thomas]], [[Ian Hunter (singer)|Ian Hunter]], [[Slim Whitman]] and [[The Irish Rovers]], among others.

After working in the [[Nashville]] industry for more than a decade, collaborating with the likes of [[Johnny Cash]], Popovich Sr. moved back to [[Cleveland]] in 1994. A year later, he re-established the Cleveland International label with a focus on [[Polka music]].<ref name="Brokkbank"/>

The label won a lawsuit in 2005 when [[Sony Music]] produced copies of the ''Bat Out of Hell'' CD without the Cleveland International logo. In 2007, a court ordered Sony to pay Cleveland $5 million.<ref>{{cite news |title=Sony sued in Meat Loaf logo row |work=BBC News |date=2007-11-23 |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7108975.stm |access-date=2007-11-23}}</ref>

With his estate finally settled, Popovich, Sr.'s son, Steve Popovich, Jr. revived the record label in late December 2018. Cleveland International Records will operate out of Nashville, but Popovich, Jr. said the goal will be to open an office in Cleveland down the road.<ref name="Brokkbank">{{cite news|url=https://www.news5cleveland.com/news/local-news/cleveland-metro/steve-popovich-jr-reviving-cleveland-international-records|title=Steve Popovich Jr. reviving Cleveland International Records|first=Mike|last=Brokkbank|work=[[WEWS-TV]]|publisher=[[E. W. Scripps Company]]|location=[[Cleveland]]|date=January 26, 2019|accessdate=January 26, 2019}}</ref><ref name="Niesel">{{cite news|url=https://www.clevescene.com/scene-and-heard/archives/2018/12/26/steve-popovich-jr-relaunches-his-fathers-cleveland-international-records|title=Steve Popovich Jr. Relaunches His Father's Cleveland International Records|first=Jeff|last=Niesel|work=[[Cleveland Scene]]|publisher=Euclid Media Group|location=[[Cleveland]]|date=December 26, 2018|accessdate=January 26, 2019}}</ref><ref name="Petkovic">{{cite news|url=https://www.cleveland.com/expo/life-and-culture/g66l-2019/01/dde8769a1c1355/cleveland-international-rocks-again-legendary-record-label-readies-for-relaunch-vintage-photos.html|title=Cleveland International rocks again: Legendary record label readies for relaunch (vintage photos)|first=John|last=Petkovic|work=[[The Plain Dealer#cleveland.com|Cleveland.com]]|publisher=[[Advance Publications]]|location=[[Cleveland]]|date=January 20, 2019|accessdate=January 26, 2019}}</ref>

==Dispute between Cleveland International and Sony== In 1995, Cleveland International sued [[Sony Music Entertainment]] for unpaid royalties from sales of "Bat Out of Hell." Under the terms of the 1998 [[settlement (litigation)|settlement agreement]] ending the suit, Sony agreed to pay US$6.7 million and include the Cleveland International logo on all future releases of the album. In 2002, Steve Popovich, founder of Cleveland International, sued Sony alleging that Sony had failed to include the logo on the album as agreed. In 2005, the [[United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio|federal district court]] in [[Cleveland]], [[Ohio]] entered judgment against Sony pursuant to a jury verdict in favor of Popovich and awarded Popovich US$5,700,000 in damages for Sony's breach of the 1998 settlement agreement. Sony appealed the verdict but in 2007 the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit|federal appellate court]] in [[Cincinnati]], Ohio affirmed the judgment of the trial court.<ref>{{cite news |title=Sony sued in Meat Loaf logo row |work=BBC News |date=November 23, 2007 |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7108975.stm |access-date=November 23, 2007| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20071213164349/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7108975.stm| archive-date=December 13, 2007| url-status= live}}</ref> In 2012, Sony reached a final out-of-court settlement with Popovich's estate over more unpaid royalties revealed in an audit performed prior to Popovich's death in 2011.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.billboard.com/biz/articles/news/tv-film/6070293/the-brutal-35-year-war-between-sony-stephen-popovich-meat-loaf |title=The Brutal 35-Year War Between Sony, Stephen Popovich & Meat Loaf |last=Dannen |first=Fredric |date=April 29, 2014 |website=billboard.com |publisher=Billboard |access-date=June 4, 2018 |quote=}}</ref>

== See also == * [[List of record labels]]

==References== {{reflist}}

[[Category:Companies based in Cleveland]] [[Category:American independent record labels]] [[Category:Record labels established in 1977]] [[Category:Rock record labels]] [[Category:Music of Cleveland]]