Black Eyed Peas, Daddy Yankee, and Sony Music Hit With Copyright Lawsuit Over 'Bailar Contigo' Sample

Black Eyed Peas, Daddy Yankee, and Sony Music Hit With Copyright Lawsuit Over 'Bailar Contigo' Sample

By Marcus Bennett

December 29, 2024 at 09:54 PM

A copyright infringement lawsuit has been filed against Daddy Yankee, Black Eyed Peas, and Sony Music over their 2022 song "Bailar Contigo," which allegedly samples Scatman John's 1994 hit "Scatman (Ski-Ba-Bop-Ba-Dop-Bop)" without proper authorization.

Man singing into microphone onstage

Man singing into microphone onstage

Iceberg Records, which owns the master rights and 50% of publishing rights to "Scatman," claims that while an agreement was reached for using the composition, the defendants used the actual sound recording without permission. The deal granted Iceberg a 75% compositional stake and 5% master income interest in "Bailar Contigo."

The lawsuit alleges that despite attempts to manipulate the recording to hide the infringement, the similarity between the tracks is unmistakable. Iceberg accuses the defendants of deliberately misleading them to avoid higher licensing fees.

The plaintiff seeks damages and attorneys' fees for direct and contributory infringement, as well as fraud. Sony Music has not responded to requests for comment, and Iceberg founder Manfred Zähringer declined to comment on the ongoing litigation.

"Bailar Contigo," featured on Black Eyed Peas' Elevation album, has accumulated nearly 70 million Spotify streams since its release in November 2022.

Cartoon monkey wearing golden crown

Cartoon monkey wearing golden crown

Morrison Hotel album cover

Morrison Hotel album cover

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