Universal Pictures and Warner Music Sued by Former Warner Employee

Musician Jake Broido is embroiled in a legal dispute with Universal Pictures and his former employer Warner Music over his contribution to the Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth song “See You Again,” which featured on the Furious 7 soundtrack.

Backstory:

• As per Complete Music Update (CMU), Broido says that in 2015 he was employed by a company that provided admin services to Warner Music.

• Puth was working on the song that would become “See You Again” and allegedly approached Broido while he was in the Warner offices about singing gang vocals on the song.

• The lawsuit alleges that Broido then contributed to both the songwriting and recording of the song.

The allegations:

• Broido claims he was never given a co-writer credit, nor paid any royalties.

• The US IP Rights Distribution Fund – which allocates royalties to session musicians and backing vocalists for performances of recordings on online and satellite radio services – was allegedly told by Warners that the backing vocals on the song were provided by unnamed “A&R staffers.”

• Though Broido would later work for Warner, at the time of the recording he was not on staff.

• He says he wasn’t asked to sign any paperwork which, says CMU, is important because “it means the label and studio can’t claim his involvement... was on a ‘work-for-hire’ basis, which under US copyright law would make the label or studio the default owner of the copyrights in the music.”

Damages:

• Broido is seeking a share in the song’s publishing rights, as well as damages from Warner and Universal for breach of contract and fiduciary duty, fraudulent concealment, and what CMU terms “other unlawful conduct.”