Reggae legend Max Romeo files lawsuit over £12.3 million in unpaid royalties

Maxwell Livingston Smith AKA Max Romeo has filed a lawsuit against Universal Music Group (UMG) and PolyGram Publishing over unpaid royalties since 1976 in the New York Supreme Court.

The singer, famed for hits such as 'Chase the Devil' and 'One Step Forward', claims that he's not received any royalties for the sampling or licensing of his music for almost 50 years. The royalties in question are from albums 'War Ina Babylon' and 'Reconstruction', released in 1976 and 1977 respectively.

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The recording contracts for the albums, which were produced with the late Lee 'Scratch' Perry and his band The Upsetters, both agree that Romeo would receive 25% from all sums received for the recordings and 50% publishing on the compositions.

These agreements were made with Island Music, who have since been taken over by UMG and PolyGram through a sequence of mergers and acquisitions.

The lawsuit has been amended in a new filing that begun on September 29, after the case was partially dismissed by Judge Suzanne Adams.

Romeo, who only received royalty statements over the years 1976 to 2021 in September 2021 after he demanded a complete report, and his team have accused UMG and PolyGram "false" royalty accounting.

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DancehallMag have reported that one example of "false" royalty accounting in the updated complaint surrounds royalty payments from the 'Island Reggae Tripe Best Of' compilation.

Three of Romeo's songs featured on the compilation, which only ever released on CD. As there is no production variation, all three songs should have identical earnings however this is not the case.

The lawsuit also points towards unaccounted for royalties from Idris Elba's Yardie film, 'War Ina Babylon's numerous repressings and the use of 'Chase the Devil' in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas amongst various other claims.

[via DancehallMag]

Tibor Heskett is Mixmag's Digital Intern, follow him on Twitter.