Reggae legend Max Romeo files lawsuit claming £6million in unpaid royalties
Max Romeo has filed a lawsuit against Universal Music Group (UMG) and PolyGram Records over alleged unpaid royalties dating back to 1976.
In a DancehallMag report, the legendary reggae artist claimed he had not received any royalties from the licensing or sampling of his music for 50 years. He is specifically suing over two albums, ‘War Ina Babylon’ (1976) and ‘Reconstruction’ (1977). Both albums were produced with the late Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry and his band The Upsetters.
Romeo’s music has been used in numerous songs and films. Most recently, the Yardie film (directed by Idris Elba) used ‘War Ina Babylon’ in its soundtrack, reportedly with no compensation. Romeo’s team have claimed after Yardie‘s release, there were extra re-pressings of ‘War Ina Babylon’, totalling up to over one million copies being sold.
The use of ‘Chase The Devil’ was also challenged in the lawsuit. Romeo’s team said the song has been licensed for synchronisation in TV shows, movies such as Seth Rogen‘s Paul (2011), and video games such as the legendary Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. Furthermore, the song was sampled in Jay Z‘s ‘Lucifer’ (produced by Kanye West) and The Prodigy‘s ‘Out Of Space’, for which Romeo complains he has failed to receive “a penny in royalties”. He alleges he was only paid 25 per cent of a $5,000 (£4,000) “synchronization fee” for the song.
Romeo (real name Maxwell Smith) alleged that the contracts for both albums state he would receive 25 per cent from all sums received from the recording and 50 per cent publishing on the recording. These contracts were originally made with Island Records, which has since been taken over by UMG and PolyGram.
Furthermore, the Jamaican-born musician says he received “incomplete and inaccurate” royalty statements in September 2021 after demanding a complete report. This report spanned the years of 1976 to 2021; UMG is said to have paid Romeo just over $125,000 (£101,000) with even smaller payments afterwards. Romeo’s team said this sum “did not come close to bringing the account for the Romeo Recordings current; nor did they compensate Romeo for lost interest on the late payments.”
Romeo’s team have also accused the two labels of “false” royalty accounting. One example his team gave was of uneven royalty payments from the ‘Island Reggae Triple Best Of’ compilation, which contained three Romeo albums exclusively on CD. They claim that all three CDs should therefore have identical earnings. However, UMG’s reports showed different earnings for the three CDs, which Romeo’s team say is physically impossible.
The singer is seeking no less than $7.5million (£6million) in damages for the alleged contract breaches, “prejudgement interest”, and legal costs. Romeo also called for a complete and accurate accounting of his royalties, and amendments to his contracts that would declare him as the legal owner of his 19 recordings.
So far, UMG and Polygram made a motion to dismiss the original complaint filed earlier this year, saying that Romeo’s allegations are “time-barred”, and that the relevant statute of limitations for such claims is maximum six years.
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Alex Rigotti
NME
