Reggae artist Maxwell Livingston Smith, better known as Max Romeo, is pursuing legal action against Universal Music Group and PolyGram Publishing for unpaid royalties since 1976. Romeo claims that he has not received any financial compensation for almost 50 years from the sampling or licensing of his music. According to the artist, royalties from his albums ‘War Ina Babylon’ and ‘Reconstruction’, released in 1976 and 1977 respectively, are in question.
The recording contracts for both albums agreed that Romeo would receive 25% of all sums received for the recordings and 50% publishing on the compositions. These agreements were made with Island Music, which has since been taken over by Universal Music Group and PolyGram through mergers and acquisitions. Romeo’s lawsuit has been amended after an incomplete dismissal by Judge Suzanne Adams on September 29.
Romeo only received royalty statements from 1976 to 2021 in September 2021 after requesting a complete report, leading him and his team to accuse Universal Music Group and PolyGram of “false” royalty accounting. DancehallMag has reported that one example in the updated complaint is the royalty payments from the ‘Island Reggae Tripe Best Of’ compilation. Three of Romeo’s songs are featured on the compilation, which only ever released on CD. As there is no production variation, all three songs should have identical earnings; however, this is not the case.
The lawsuit also claims unaccounted royalties from Idris Elba’s Yardie film, ‘War Ina Babylon’s numerous repressings, the use of ‘Chase the Devil’ in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, and several other allegations
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