DATE: Wednesday, November 26, 1997          TAG: 9711260521

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY MARC DAVIS, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: NORFOLK                           LENGTH:   53 lines

OWNER OF RADIO STATIONS TO PAY FOR MUSIC PIRACY

For the second time this year, Bishop Levi Willis has agreed to pay a six-figure settlement after admitting to musical piracy at his national radio empire.

This time, Willis has agreed to pay $416,000 to Broadcast Music Inc., one of the nation's biggest musical licensing agencies.

In the settlement, Willis admitted playing music at 16 radio stations in 1995 and 1996 without paying licensing fees, which is a violation of federal copyright laws. The settlement was filed recently in Norfolk's federal court.

BMI accused Willis and his Norfolk-based radio companies - Willis Broadcasting Corp. and others - of playing 77 copyrighted songs, both secular and religious, at stations in 11 states, including Virginia and North Carolina.

The diverse list of pirated songs range from the overtly sexual (``She's Built, She's Stacked'' and ``Sex on the Beach'') to the overtly religious (``Be With Me Jesus'' and ``I Will Praise Him'').

BMI had sued Willis in May.

For Willis, this is the second big musical settlement of 1997. Just six months ago, Willis agreed to pay $300,000 to ASCAP - the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers - to settle similar accusations of musical piracy. ASCAP had sued Willis last year.

In that case, Willis was accused of playing music at three radio stations in Portsmouth, New Orleans and Philadelphia without paying royalties.

On Tuesday, Willis' attorney, Joseph C. Lindsey, said the ASCAP and BMI lawsuits were the most critical issues facing Willis' radio business. He said Willis is ecstatic that they are now settled, despite the heavy cost.

``It's certainly going to require him to be dollar-wise,'' Lindsey said.

Willis has a long history of not paying musical royalties.

ASCAP sued Willis successfully in 1976, 1988, 1992 and 1993 for not paying music licensing fees at his radio stations. The last two cases resulted in judgments of $219,000 and $111,000, some of which remained unpaid earlier this year.

In June, Lindsey said Willis still suffers financial problems from an embezzlement by his daughter in the early 1990s.

As a bishop, Willis oversees 70 churches in Virginia affiliated with the Church of God in Christ. Last year, he completed a $3 million, 1,750-seat church in Norfolk called the Garden of Prayer Temple. The Rev. Jesse Jackson was the keynote speaker at the opening ceremony.

Willis also is a Democratic political leader. At one time, he was among the most powerful men in Norfolk, but his political power has waned in recent years. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo

JIM WALKER/The Virginian-Pilot

Bishop Levi Willis...

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