Stem wars: recent lawsuits expose copyright pitfalls for labels and producers
Recent lawsuits highlight the complex copyright issues faced by labels and producers where multiple people are involved in the production of a track, with a number of clashes over unauthorised use of stems, loops and beats in hit songs
A series of lawsuits have highlighted how critical it is for labels and producers to meticulously track and clarify ownership of any beats, stems or loops used in their releases. In particular, where elements of the track have come from third parties, it is essential to understand who created what and who owns the copyright.
The most recent case involves songwriter and producer Jon Hume, who is suing Universal Music over allegations that the Dean Lewis track ‘Be Alright’ contains stems that he created. They were used without his permission, he claims, after the label told him that his work was not going to be used in the final release.?
The dispute echoes similar recent cases, including 2Point9Records’ lawsuit against Sony Music’s Ministry Of Sound Recordings, producer Sébastien Graux’s claim against Feid and Universal Music, and a dispute between Dutch producer Noam Ofirand and Norwegian Frederik ?verlie.
No one disputes that Hume was involved in the writing of ‘Be Alright’ back in 2015 and, according to the MLC database, he has a 50% stake in the song copyright.?
He also created an original version of the track, playing all the instruments and adding Lewis’s vocals. He then provided that recording - and its constituent stems - to Lewis’s label. There was talk of Universal using his stems at one point, but he was ultimately told - before the record’s release in 2018 - that “we did not end up using any of Jon’s files in the final master”.
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However, last year he discovered that more than half of the stems in the released version of ‘Be Alright’ were from his original recording, contradicting the assurances the label gave.?
His lawsuit states that Universal Music “have misappropriated the sounds embodied on the stems created by Jon Hume, their author”, and that his “creative contributions” to ‘Be Alright’ are “original and rise to a level of independent copyrightability”. Therefore the major is liable for copyright infringement.
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