East L.A. rock group Los Lobos have filed two lawsuits in opposition to Sony, claiming the band was underpaid royalties on the songs they recorded for the La Bamba and Desperado soundtracks.
Between them, the lawsuits ask for between $1.5 million and $2.75 million in compensation. They have been filed in California state courtroom late final 12 months, and solely got here to gentle when one of many fits was transferred to a federal courtroom on Friday (January 9).
That lawsuit names Sony Music Leisure and its label Milan Leisure as defendants, and facilities on Canción del Mariachi, a music Los Lobos recorded for the 1995 Antonio Banderas movie Desperado.
The music was used because the opening observe for the film, and appeared on each the Desperado soundtrack and in a 2004 compilation soundtrack of all of the Mariachi films, titled Mexico and the Mariachis, launched by Milan Leisure. Milan was acquired by Sony Masterworks in 2019. The music has been obtainable through that soundtrack on streaming since 2018.
“Plaintiffs’ representatives have lately found that neither Sony, nor Milan, or every other Sony-related entity has ever accounted to Los Lobos for any digital streaming of the recording in any nation, territory, or place, for any streaming, at any time, for any royalty interval,” states the grievance, which could be learn in full right here.
“Neither Sony, nor Milan, or every other Sony-related entity has ever accounted to Los Lobos for any digital streaming of the recording in any nation, territory, or place, for any streaming, at any time, for any royalty interval.”
Los Lobos, in a grievance in opposition to Sony
This failure to account for the music’s streams turned “much more egregious” lately when Canción del Mariachi gained new followers after UFC fighter Ilia “El Matador” Topuria started utilizing it as his “walkout” music or “anthem,” the grievance states. It alleges Sony was conscious of the music’s resurgent reputation, because it had the title modified to Canción del Mariachi (Ilia Topuria ‘El Matador’ Anthem).
On condition that Los Lobos’ recording contract gave the band 24% of web income on the music, the band estimates they’re owed between $500,000 and $750,000 for the greater than 600 million streams the music has garnered. The grievance asks the courtroom for an entire accounting of the royalties owed on the observe.
It additionally states that Los Lobos have motive to imagine the recording was licensed to be used on tv, for which the band by no means obtained royalties.
Sony Music declined to remark.
The opposite lawsuit names Sony Footage Leisure and Sony-owned Columbia Footage as defendants, and alleges that members of Los Lobos – David Hidalgo, Louie Perez, Cesar Rosas, Conrad Lozano, and Steve Berlin – have been by no means paid royalties for streams exterior the US and Canada for his or her 1987 cowl of La Bamba.
Los Lobos recorded the music for a biopic of rocker Ritchie Valens, additionally titled La Bamba. Valens died in 1959 in a airplane crash in Iowa that additionally killed Buddy Holly and ‘Massive Bopper’ J.P. Richardson. Valens had initially recorded La Bamba, which he had tailored from a Mexican people music.
Los Lobos’ model of the music turned a world hit, reaching No. 1 on the charts in 15 international locations, in response to the grievance as cited by Rolling Stone, and spent three weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Sizzling 100.
Regardless of the music’s worldwide success, “plaintiff’s representatives have lately found that no royalties for streaming exploitation of the recordings have ever been paid to Los Lobos for any nation exterior of the US and Canada,” acknowledged the grievance, as quoted by Billboard. The grievance describes that as a “huge deficiency.”
The grievance says Sony is liable for the underpayment as a result of it handles non-US and Canada royalty accounting for the La Bamba soundtrack. It estimates the again royalties owed run between $1 million and $2 million.
Los Lobos was shaped in East Los Angeles in 1973 and got here to prominence with La Bamba in 1987. They’ve recorded 17 studio albums, together with most lately 2021’s Native Sons, and have been nominated for 12 Grammy awards, profitable 4.
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