Producer Sammy Soso (Samuel Awuku) is being sued in California over the hit single, Water by South African superstar Tyla (Tyla Seethal).
The lawsuit was filed by Olmo Zucca and Jackson LoMastro, who the lawsuit notes “are two of the co-composers and co-authors of the Composition of the Song.”
Zucca and LoMastro are both listed as co-writers in the track’s credits on Spotify. The track was released via Sony Music‘s Epic Records. Tyla and Sony Music are also named as defendants in the lawsuit.
The lawsuit centers on a dispute over royalties allegedly owed for Zucca and LoMastro’s work on the track and specifically about whether or not the duo were “top-line producers of the Song,” which they claim to be, along with Rayan El-Hussein Goufar (aka Rayo) and Samuel Awuku.
The lawsuit, obtained by MBW, and which you can read in full here, alleges that the “defendants have acknowledged that [Zucca and LoMastro] are co-composers and co-authors of the composition of the Song, but steadfastly refuse to (i) recognize and compensate Plaintiffs as top-line producers of the Song, and (ii) pay Plaintiffs all of the royalties to which Plaintiffs are entitled from the Song.”
The complaint continues: “Defendants’ refusal to credit Plaintiffs as top-line producers of the Song has resulted in harm to Plaintiffs’ reputation and careers, and has cost Plaintiffs opportunities that otherwise would have been available to them had they been credited as top-line producers of the Song.”
As noted by the complaint, since its release by on July 28, 2023, Tyla’s Water has won numerous awards including the inaugural Grammy for Best African Music Performance.
To date, the track has been streamed over 1 billion times on Spotify alone and currently has over 350 million views on YouTube across the official music video and official audio.
According to the complaint, between March 8-9 2023, a recording session for Water took place in Los Angeles.
The complaint claims that four producers were present, including Zucca, LoMastro, Goufar, and Awuku.
During the recording session, the filing alleges, “Zucca and LoMastro produced numerous audio files that are used in the final master recording of the Song, including piano, Rhodes, bass guitar, electric guitar, sine pad, voice trumpet, and sound-designed vocal”.
Zucca and LoMastro claim that upon completion of the session, they “transferred the audio files to Awuku’s computer” and that because “all four producers contributed equally to the production of the Song, each should be receiving full top-line producer credit and an equal percentage of royalties”.
The complaint continues: “Zucca and LoMastro were not ‘session musicians,’ and their contribution to the Song was not done on a work-for-hire basis.
“Zucca and LoMastro never received or signed any paperwork indicating that they were session musicians for the Song, and they never were paid on a work-for-hire basis for the Song. Rather, Zucca and LoMastro were full producers.”
They claim further that “Awuku has taken sole credit for the entire production of the Song, negotiated and entered into a producer agreement directly with Seethal, failed to tell Plaintiffs (or Goufar) about it, and failed to cut Plaintiffs in on equal terms”.
The filing alleges: “Instead of each producer getting [one quarter] of 50% (i.e., 12.5%) of the music publishing royalties (which would be customary), Awuku took 15% for himself, allocated 10% to each of Zucca, LoMastro, and Goufar, and gave 5% to Christopher Alan “Tricky” Stewart.
“Although Plaintiffs tried for months to resolve the matter with Awuku, Awuku adamantly refused to negotiate. Plaintiffs made repeated efforts beginning in early July 2023 – before the Song was released – to obtain the credit and royalties to which they are entitled.”
Zucca and LoMastro are asking the court to declare that they “are each a top-line producer of the Song” and that they “are each entitled to full top-line producer credit for the Song, including on the copyright to the Composition for the Song”.
They also argue that they are “entitled to a prospective and retroactive 12.5% share of the publishing royalties generated from the exploitation of the Song” as well as “prospective and retroactive pro rata master/record royalties relating to the Song”.
Among their demands, they also want the court to declare that they are “each entitled to prospective and retroactive pro rata standard SoundExchange royalties for the Song” as well as “a producer fee for the Song”.Music Business Worldwide