Jason Derulo has entered a legal battle with a music producer who claims that he was never credited for his contributions to a chart-topping track by the singer.
According to court documents acquired by Radar Online, Matthew Spatola (better known as Matty Spats) has slapped Derulo and Sony Music with a federal lawsuit because he was not listed as a co-author on the 2020 hit, “Savage Love,” which he allegedly worked on with the Florida native.
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According to the complaint, Derulo “unilaterally released ‘Savage Love,’ without providing any credit whatsoever to Spatola for the work they jointly created together. This lawsuit is filed to right that wrong, and to ensure that Spatola is properly credited as a co-writer of ‘Savage Love’ and compensated for his contributions thereto.”
It adds: “Although Spatola had produced at Derulo’s home studio before ‘Savage Love,’ those sessions involved a larger group of contributors and were entirely unrelated to ‘Savage Love.’ To Spatola’s knowledge, none of the music created at those earlier sessions was ever released by Derulo.
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“‘Savage Love’ was different – the writing and conceptualizing of the instrumental composition and the creation of the actual recording occurred when Spatola and Derulo were the only contributors present in Derulo’s studio collaborating together to create ‘Savage Love.'”
You can listen to ‘Savage Love’ below:
The song in question went on to enjoy a great deal of commercial success, culminating with a remix version that features K-Pop superstars BTS. Spatola was never consulted about reworking the track despite reaching out to Derulo about working out a deal that would involve him receiving his due credit.
The lawsuit reads: “At no time did Derulo or Sony ever get permission from, account to, or even enter into any contract with Spatola for his contributions to ‘Savage Love’ and the BTS remix.”
“If Spatola had been properly credited as a co-author and co-producer of a hit like Savage Love, he would have received additional opportunities that were lost due to this lack of credit,” the suit continues. “Composers credited with co-writing hit songs as writers are invited to work with other top performers in the industry, along with other lucrative opportunities.”
In addition to not receiving “substantial royalties,” Spatola’s team is making a case around the prospects he missed out on as a result of not being credited, and hence failing to receive the recognition of a commercially successful producer.
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He claims that he was “not given the opportunity to further advance his career in the music industry as a benefit to helping Derulo create the chart-topping song.”
Spatola is currently seeking unspecified damages from Derulo and Sony Music.
