Billion-dollar lawsuit for Beenie, Songwriter claims unpaid royalties
STAINLESS said
00:08 02/17 2007
Dancehall entertainer Moses Davis a.k.a 'Beenie Man' is about to be in the hot seat again. The artiste is about to be sued for royalty rights for the shocking sum of �10 million (JA$1.31billion).
Songwriter Michael 'Rasta Voice' Morgan claims to have written over 30 songs for Beenie Man including some of his major earlier hits such as Memories, Blessed Be Thy Name, Healer, Murderer, and Which One, among others.
Blessed Be Thy Name spent five weeks in the number one position in Jamaica, and Launch From My Father Pump Rifle spent a total of nine weeks in the number one spot on the U.K. Reggae Chart.
Morgan claims that though these songs became the basis for the launch of Beenie Man's Grammy Award winning career, he has not received the required royalties.
Morgan, a well-known song-writer, signed a contract with the United Kingdom-based Per-forming Rights Society (PRS), in March 1995 and entered into a five-year contract to write songs for Shocking Vibes Production.
Attorney-at-Law Conrad Powell, practitioner of the law office of Conrad Powell, contacted THE STAR recently on behalf of his client Michael Morgan. He told The STAR: "We're about to sue Beenie Man, also Shocking Vibes, Patrick Roberts individually, Beenie Man's Shocking Vibes music company and Dubplate Music, which is an administrator of Shocking Vibes. We're suing for �10 million."
According to Powell, the lawsuit (which will be filed within the next two weeks) will be suing for copyright infringement, breach of the writer's rights associated with compositions, and breach of contract action with respect to reporting and accounting of royalties.
"My client has been with them for 10 years and has done about 30 songs, all recorded by Beenie Man," Powell said.
"There has been minimal royalties (de minimus). He had legal contracts with Shocking Vibes music which have been cancelled. We have strong hard evidence. My client has a lot of personal issues that he needs to attend to. He hasn't gotten royalties, his family has been stressed and we're hoping they make good," Powell said.
Augustus 'Gussy' Clarke, who is the CEO of Dub Plate Music Publishers, says: "We are not the publishers for Beenie Man, we are the sub-publishers for Shocking Vibes and any and all copyright information was submitted to us by Shocking Vibes and we act on behalf of Shocking Vibes and their writers."
He further commented: "I am aware of his claim and we have researched it and our information and data base reflect that he was credited as a writer of these songs and further to that and to the best of my knowledge, he was signed to Shocking Vibes as a writer. So we are like a middle man and we have honoured all our obligations to Shocking Vibes Music in relation to their writers and catalogue of work."
Morgan, who has been a registered writer from 1992, says he has known Beenie Man for years since the two were teenagers. He says he made attempts to confront Beenie, but the issue was not fully dealt with.
"I've spoken to Beenie Man. He used to live wid me for like six-seven years. I talk to him bout it but not in depth cause it would have caused conflict. They haven't been giving me royalties every three months, sometimes all five or six months later I get paid. 1999 was the last slip I received," he said.
"I was getting very embarrassing figures like JA$7,000 to JA$11,000. Its difficult to say the exact amount I should be getting, but it's at least US$200,000-$300,000 and that's multiplied by 30 songs," Morgan claims.
Morgan says that he has vigorously tried talking to Patrick Roberts but to no avail. "I went to Patrick Roberts and he said my contract bun up."
However, when contacted, Patrick Roberts, head of Shocking Vibes Limited, claims he knows nothing of the claim.
"I know nothing of that, the claims have to be first verified between himself and Beenie Man and to my knowledge those songs were done over a 12-year period. Beenie has his publishing company and it is not Shocking Vibes. There is a chain of command and the first chain is to deal with Beenie Man and find out the real authenticity of the claim and then it comes to us. We are only the administrator of Dub Plate Music," Patrick Roberts told The STAR.
However, Powell says he has been in discussion with Clyde McKenzie, co-owner of Shocking Vibes. "We've spoken to Clyde McKenzie. The response at one point was that he was interested in settling but they have been evading and no more response has come from that camp."
Patrick Roberts, however, said: "We have no statements here for him. (Morgan) I can't tell the last time I saw his name on a statement. And those songs, dem only play now and then - but first and foremost, he has to find Beenie Man and settle whatever claims."
Efforts were made to contact Beenie Man but were unsuccessful up until press time.
CALOSS said
00:14 02/17 2007
lol..dem sey a pocket money fi di artist lol,we ago si
LOST said
00:44 02/18 2007
yuh bl**dcl**t yuh bout yah king of dancehall & cyaa write yuh own song dem better pay di man him money 200,000 x 30 =6,000,000 & dats $us 6mill x di rate fi us dollars dat him fi get smaddy tell mi if mi wrong mino 3 like maths .......... beenie better tek bak di ring fran angel & sell it.LMAO.LMAO.LMAO
Dancehall entertainer Moses Davis a.k.a 'Beenie Man' is about to be in the hot seat again. The artiste is about to be sued for royalty rights for the shocking sum of �10 million (JA$1.31billion).
Songwriter Michael 'Rasta Voice' Morgan claims to have written over 30 songs for Beenie Man including some of his major earlier hits such as Memories, Blessed Be Thy Name, Healer, Murderer, and Which One, among others.
Blessed Be Thy Name spent five weeks in the number one position in Jamaica, and Launch From My Father Pump Rifle spent a total of nine weeks in the number one spot on the U.K. Reggae Chart.
Morgan claims that though these songs became the basis for the launch of Beenie Man's Grammy Award winning career, he has not received the required royalties.
Morgan, a well-known song-writer, signed a contract with the United Kingdom-based Per-forming Rights Society (PRS), in March 1995 and entered into a five-year contract to write songs for Shocking Vibes Production.
Attorney-at-Law Conrad Powell, practitioner of the law office of Conrad Powell, contacted THE STAR recently on behalf of his client Michael Morgan. He told The STAR: "We're about to sue Beenie Man, also Shocking Vibes, Patrick Roberts individually, Beenie Man's Shocking Vibes music company and Dubplate Music, which is an administrator of Shocking Vibes. We're suing for �10 million."
According to Powell, the lawsuit (which will be filed within the next two weeks) will be suing for copyright infringement, breach of the writer's rights associated with compositions, and breach of contract action with respect to reporting and accounting of royalties.
"My client has been with them for 10 years and has done about 30 songs, all recorded by Beenie Man," Powell said.
"There has been minimal royalties (de minimus). He had legal contracts with Shocking Vibes music which have been cancelled. We have strong hard evidence. My client has a lot of personal issues that he needs to attend to. He hasn't gotten royalties, his family has been stressed and we're hoping they make good," Powell said.
Augustus 'Gussy' Clarke, who is the CEO of Dub Plate Music Publishers, says: "We are not the publishers for Beenie Man, we are the sub-publishers for Shocking Vibes and any and all copyright information was submitted to us by Shocking Vibes and we act on behalf of Shocking Vibes and their writers."
He further commented: "I am aware of his claim and we have researched it and our information and data base reflect that he was credited as a writer of these songs and further to that and to the best of my knowledge, he was signed to Shocking Vibes as a writer. So we are like a middle man and we have honoured all our obligations to Shocking Vibes Music in relation to their writers and catalogue of work."
Morgan, who has been a registered writer from 1992, says he has known Beenie Man for years since the two were teenagers. He says he made attempts to confront Beenie, but the issue was not fully dealt with.
"I've spoken to Beenie Man. He used to live wid me for like six-seven years. I talk to him bout it but not in depth cause it would have caused conflict. They haven't been giving me royalties every three months, sometimes all five or six months later I get paid. 1999 was the last slip I received," he said.
"I was getting very embarrassing figures like JA$7,000 to JA$11,000. Its difficult to say the exact amount I should be getting, but it's at least US$200,000-$300,000 and that's multiplied by 30 songs," Morgan claims.
Morgan says that he has vigorously tried talking to Patrick Roberts but to no avail. "I went to Patrick Roberts and he said my contract bun up."
However, when contacted, Patrick Roberts, head of Shocking Vibes Limited, claims he knows nothing of the claim.
"I know nothing of that, the claims have to be first verified between himself and Beenie Man and to my knowledge those songs were done over a 12-year period. Beenie has his publishing company and it is not Shocking Vibes. There is a chain of command and the first chain is to deal with Beenie Man and find out the real authenticity of the claim and then it comes to us. We are only the administrator of Dub Plate Music," Patrick Roberts told The STAR.
However, Powell says he has been in discussion with Clyde McKenzie, co-owner of Shocking Vibes. "We've spoken to Clyde McKenzie. The response at one point was that he was interested in settling but they have been evading and no more response has come from that camp."
Patrick Roberts, however, said: "We have no statements here for him. (Morgan) I can't tell the last time I saw his name on a statement. And those songs, dem only play now and then - but first and foremost, he has to find Beenie Man and settle whatever claims."
Efforts were made to contact Beenie Man but were unsuccessful up until press time.