Bob Dylan Sued Over Co-Writer's Claim to Song Catalog Sale
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
BILLBOARD COUNTRY UPDATE APRIL 13, 2020 | PAGE 4 OF 19 ON THE CHARTS JIM ASKER [email protected] Bulletin SamHunt’s Southside Rules Top Country YOURAlbu DAILYms; BrettENTERTAINMENT Young ‘Catc NEWSh UPDATE’-es Fifth AirplayJANUARY 21, 2021 Page 1 of 20 Leader; Travis Denning Makes History INSIDE Bob Dylan Sued Over Sam Hunt’s second studio full-length, and first in over five years, Southside sales (up 21%) in the tracking week. On Country Airplay, it hops 18-15 (11.9 mil- (MCA Nashville/Universal Music GroupCo-Writer’s Nashville), debuts at No. 1 on Billboard’s Claimlion audience impressions, to Songup 16%). Catalog Top• Country Eventbrite Albums Missed chart dated April 18. In its first week (ending April 9), it earnedWarnings 46,000 equivalentAbout album units, including 16,000 in album sales, ac- TRY TO ‘CATCH’ UP WITH YOUNG Brett Youngachieves his fifth consecutive cordingArmed to Nielsen Caravan Music/MRC Data. Sale: Whatand total Country AirplayIt No.Means 1 as “Catch” (Big Machine Label Group) ascends SouthsideHeaded marks to Trump Hunt’s second No. 1 on the 2-1, increasing 13% to 36.6 million impressions. chart andRally fourth In DC top 10. It follows freshman LP BY CHRIS EGGERTSEN AND COLIN STUTZYoung’s first of six chart entries, “Sleep With- Montevallo, which arrived at the summit in No - out You,” reached No. 2 in December 2016. He • Republic Records vember 2014 and reigned for nine weeks. To date, followed with the multiweek No. 1s “In Case You Marks Milestone The widow of songwriter and theatre direc- songwriting collaboration. Montevallo has earned 3.9 million units, with 1.4 Didn’t Know” (two weeks, June 2017), “Like I Loved Week on Billboard million in album sales. tor Jacques Levy, who co-wrote seven songs on Bob Whereas You”with (three, typical January co-writing 2018), “Mercy”arrangements, (two, August 200 Albums Chart Montevallo has spent 267 weeksDylan on the’s list, 1976 tying album Desire, filed a $7.25 million lawsuit Levy would2018) be entitled and “Here to anTonight” ownership (two, April share 2019). of the Luke• AnuelBryan ’sAA Crash & Ozuna My Party as theover sixth-longest- Dylan’s blockbuster sale of his song catalog to songs, his agreement“Catch” completeswith Dylan his was longest instead journey made to No. as 1, runningRewrite titles thein the Rules chart’s 56-yearUniversal history. Music Group in December, according to a work-for-hirehaving deal taken that 46 gave weeks Dylan to reach full the ownership. apex. It out - Onof the Reggaetón all-genre With Billboard 200,court Southside records ar -obtained by Billboard. The catch is, Levy Only it was pacesnot a thetypical 30-week work-for-hire climb of “Here either. Tonight.” In- rives at No. 5, awarding Hunt his second top 10 On Hot Country Songs, “Catch” pushes 7-5 for Joint Album HUNT YOUNG after the No. 3-peaking Montevallonever. owned any of the songs sold. stead, the pacta new entitled high. Levy and his publisher to 35% Hunt• Why first thereleased Term the EPX2C , whichIn the debuted complaint, which was filed Wednesday (Jan. the songs’ revenue, paid by Dylan or directly from a and‘Latinx’ peaked Hasn’t at No. Taken 5 on Top Country20) in AlbumsNew York in AugustSupreme 2014. Court, FollowingClaudia LevyCOMBS accus ‘DOES’- performanceIT AGAIN Luke rightsCombs organization.’ “Does to Me” (River(The House/Columbiacontract states MontevalloOff Among, Between Latins the Pines: esAcoustic Dylan Mixtape and Universal started atof itsfailing No. 7 to high pay in Levy’s Nashville), estate featuringASCAP Eric and Church BMI,, ascends but Dylan 11-8 onhas Country been signed Airplay, with up 10% to November— And 2015.Likely Never its rightful portion of the proceeds from the24.7 catalog million in audience.SESAC since The song 1995.) is Combs’ eighth straight career-opening MontevalloWill produced five singles, four of which hit the pinnacle of Country top 10, following a record run of seven consecutive out-of-the-gate, properly Airplay: “Leave the Night On,” “Takesale for Your the Time,” songs “House he co-wrote Party” andwith “Make Dylan. Shepromoted says No. 1 singles.Per the lawsuit, Dylan was obligated to pay Levy You• Miss Atlantic Me.” A&R“Break Exec Up in a Smallthis Town” breaches peaked a 1975 at No. deal 2. that gave Levy 35% “ofChurch any adds his“Thirty-five 15th Country (35%) Airplay percent top 10. of any and all income HuntDallas co-penned Martin Named all 12 songsand on Southsideall income, including earned by “Body the compositions,”Like a Back claiming earned by the Compositions and actually received President of Asylum Road,” which was released in 2017.this The should smash include hit ruled 35% Country of those Airplay songs’ for worth THAT as partTOOK QUITEby [the ‘A FEW’ Dylan MONTHS Defendants] Travis fromDenning mechanical shatters the rights, record for Records three weeks and the airplay-, streaming-of the Universal and sales-based sale. Hot Country Songs the most weeks electricalit has taken transcriptions, to penetrate the reproducingCountry Airplay rights, top 10 motion as “After chart for a then-record 34 frames. It now ranks second only to Bebe Rexha and a Few” (Mercury Nashville) climbs 12-10 in its 57th week, up 4% to 21.4 mil - FloridaMARKET Georgia WATCH Line’s “Meant to Be”Levy (50 — weeks whose atop publishing the latter list company in 2017-18). Jackelopelion in is radio reach.picture synchronization and television rights, and all PAGE 17 “Downtown’s Dead,” which islisted also onas thea co-plaintiff new set, reached — co-wrote Nos. 14 andseven 15 of DesireThe’s song surpassesother rightstwo tracks therein” that took — which 50 weeks Claudia each to Levy enter and the topher 10: on HotSONGWRITERS Country Songs and Countrynine Airplay, songs withrespectively, Dylan, inincluding June 2018. “Hurricane,” “Kin- Easton “Isis” Corbin ’sattorney “A Girl LikeRichard You,” which Golub reached say should No. 10 include in January a share 2018 beof- folks”& ledPRODUCERS Country Airplay on Feb.and 29, “Mozambique.” becoming Hunt’s He seventh died in No. 2004. 1. It hit fore peaking at No.the 6 Universal that February, song and catalog Aaron sale.Watson’s “Outta Style,” which No. 3 on HotCHARTS Country Songs. Dylan seldom worked with other writers achievedand Levy’s its No. 10That high inclaim December will be 2017. tested, though. Levy will presum- LatestPAGES single 18 “Hard - 20 to Forget” jumps 17-9 on Hot Country Songs. It’s his “After” is Denning’s second Country Airplay entry. “David Ashley Parker co-writing on Desire is arguably his most famous (continued) eighth top 10, having corralled 8.2 million U.S. streams (up 96%) and 5,000 in From Powder Springs” traveled to No. 32 in September 2018. ETHAN MICHAEL YOUNG: VIA MARTIN/NHLI GETTY HUNT: IMAGES. IMAGES MILLER/GETTY Page 3 of 20 IN BRIEF ably continue to be entitled to that 35% of served as the show’s director. It also notes income derived from use of the songs (now that Levy was never acknowledged in the Eventbrite Missed to be paid by Universal), but since he never 2019 documentary Rolling Thunder Revue: held ownership over the songs should he be A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese — a Warnings About entitled to profit from the songs’ sale? Dylan complaint laid out previously by Levy’s and his team will likely argue no, saying son, Julien Levy, in a 2019 article for Vice. Armed Caravan Levy was hired to help write the songs and “This lawsuit is a sad attempt to un- then promised a cut of their royalties — and fairly profit off of the recent catalog sale,” Headed to Trump their royalties alone. remarked Dylan’s lawyer Orin Snyder in “The term ‘income,’ as set forth in...the a statement emailed to Billboard. “The Rally In DC Agreement, is unrestricted and unambigu- plaintiffs have been paid everything they are ous,” states the complaint, which was filed owed. We are confident that we will prevail. BY DAVE BROOKS by Levy’s attorney Richard Golub. It adds, And when we do, we will hold the plaintiffs “The Agreement’s terms make clear that and their counsel responsible for bringing ven after being flagged on ticketing the Agreement is highly atypical of a work- this meritless case.” platform Eventbrite for encourag- for-hire agreement, bestowing on Plaintiffs Universal Music Group had not respond- ing passengers to bring concealed considerable significant material rights and ed to Billboard’s request for comment at the weapons to Washington D.C., a material benefits that are not customarily time of publishing. EPennsylvania man who organized a caravan granted to employees-for-hire and that the Claudia Levy is asking for $7.25 million, to the Jan. 6 rally — and died during the riot label work-for-hire is, in this instance, a including a total of $5.25 million on two on Capitol Hill — was allowed to continue misnomer.” breach of contract counts and one count of selling tickets through the service, new Also included in the suit is an allegation “tortious interference with contract” (all reporting finds. that Dylan and UMG refused Claudia Levy’s based on a valuation of $300 million for Fifty-year-old web developer and Trump- request for Levy’s “rightful share” of the the catalog sale), and $2 million in punitive themed toy-maker Ben Philips was one catalog sale in mid-December, roughly a damages “in order to deter similar conduct of several Trump supporters offering paid week after the acquisition was announced. from happening in the future and to punish transportation services to rallies contest- In an attempt to establish that Levy’s the Dylan Defendants for their malfeasance ing the election, despite a ban by Eventbrite contributions have “been diminished and and contractual breaches.” enacted in November on listing events hidden by the Dylan Defendants” since they The sale of Dylan’s catalog, which was that promote “harmful misinformation,” first collaborated, the complaint sets up a announced on Dec.