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Friday, March 29, 2024 | Back issues
Courthouse News Service Courthouse News Service

Backup Singer Says Music Labels Owe Her

A disgruntled background singer claims Sony and RCA Records owe her royalties from a 2012 song by Travis Porter featuring Tyga, that hit No. 16 on the Billboard charts.

ATLANTA (CN) – A disgruntled background singer claims Sony and RCA Records owe her royalties from a 2012 song by Travis Porter featuring Tyga, that hit No. 16 on the Billboard charts.

Jasmine Usher sued Sony, RCA, Porter House Music Group and three band members on Oct. 25 in Fulton County Superior Court.

Usher says she sang “Yeah” throughout the choruses of “Ayy Ladies.” The song was republished in a trailer for the movie “That Awkward Moment” and used in a documentary called “Tis Paraskevis ta Gelia,” according to the complaint.

And that’s not all, she says, In September, the recording was republished in a new form when the defendants granted a license to Kyle Edwards and DJ Smalls “to remix the Sound Recording and republish the Sound Recording on iTunes and other websites,” Usher says. “The plaintiff’s voice is audible in the republished and remixed version of the Sound Recording.”

Also named as defendants are Lakeem “Ali” Mattox, Donquez “Quez” Woods and Harold “Strap” Duncan.

Usher seeks unspecified and royalties damages for misappropriation of name, likeness and right of publicity and unjust enrichment.

Representatives for Sony and RCA Records were not immediately available for comment Wednesday.

Categories / Entertainment

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