That’s my song, SA muso tells DJ
International dance music star has local royalties frozen
● South African musician Daniel Baron is taking on international dance music superstar David Guetta with claims he plagiarised Baron’s 2016 hit single Children of The Sun.
Baron, who is signed to Universal Music, claims Guetta’s track, Light Headed, featuring Australian singer Sia and released in September 2018, has a “near-identical” melody to Children of The Sun.
Through law firm Adams & Adams, Baron served a letter of demand to Guetta’s management, demanding that the French DJ credit him for his work and share half of his profits.
Adding clout to his fight is a report by renowned music expert Jeanne Zaidel-Rudolph, who found a possible case of copyright infringement.
The South African Music Rights Organisation (Samro) has also frozen all royalties owed to Guetta for the song in SA.
Baron told the Sunday Times this week he had immediately recognised his melody on Guetta’s track.
“I was completely mind-blown. I couldn’t believe I was listening to my melody. It was surreal at first because this is David Guetta, who I have been looking up to as an artist for much of my career. I am not sure where he heard my song but all I knew is I was listening to my melody in his song.”
Baron’s attorney, Stephen Hollis, confirmed a letter of demand was sent on December 7, 2018 on behalf of Baron to Guetta’s management. He said there had been no response to date.
The musician demands to be credited for the melody used by Guetta, for the song to be removed from all distribution channels, and that half of all profits made from it since its release be ceded to him.
He said if his demands were not met he would proceed with legal action in SA and other territories.
Baron said his fight was one for those who had been exploited in the past.
“I stand representing many other artists in a similar situation. This is almost testimony to the phenomenal South African talent that is out there that possibly is not showcased to the world.
“There is so much talent that often you cannot tell whether a song is produced in SA or overseas. It was almost a sense of validation when I heard my melody in the song but it is time for us as South African artists to get the recognition our talent deserves.”
The matter was also brought before Samro, with whom Baron registered his song in 2016.
Samro head of stakeholder relations Nkateko Maluleke said: “When a complaint was lodged that the music had been used, we had to follow certain procedures. We launched an investigation and froze the payment of royalties until such time as there is a resolution between the two parties.”
He would not comment on the amount frozen but said he was confident both parties would be able to resolve the matter.
“Non payment of royalties affects artists and in most cases it leads to both parties sitting down and reaching some kind of settlement. There will be a resolution if they want their royalties to be paid out.”
Baron and his team also approached Zaidel-Rudolph to help with their investigation into the matter.
The Wits University professor is the first woman in SA to obtain a doctorate in composition and was a leading figure in the crafting of the national anthem.
In her report, seen by the Sunday Times, she dissected both songs and found a possible case of copyright infringement.
Zaidel-Rudolph told the Sunday Times she could not comment on the specifics of the report but encouraged young artists to protect their work through copyright to ensure they had legal recourse in such a case.
Questions sent to both Guetta and Sia’s international management and publicist for comment went unanswered. However, Guetta’s local publisher, Geoff Paynter Music Publishing, confirmed a letter of demand had been sent to the star late last year.
“We confirm we received a letter of demand in December 2018 which was immediately forwarded to our sub-publisher principals. They confirmed that they, in turn, forwarded the correspondence to their publisher principals,” the company’s head, Geoff Paynter, said in a statement.
He was waiting for a response from Guetta’s international team.