Jason Derulo, Sony Music Win ‘Savage Love’ Copyright Lawsuit

Photo Credit: Jason Derulo for MTV International / CC by 3.0

A federal jury ruled in favor of Jason Derulo in a copyright dispute filed against him and Sony Music over his hit “Savage Love (Laxed – Siren Beat).”

On Thursday (May 7), a federal jury in Los Angeles ruled in favor of singer Jason Derulo in a copyright infringement case over his hit “Savage Love (Laxed – Siren Beat).” According to the jury, guitarist and producer Matthew Spatola failed to prove that he co-wrote the song or that his contributions were able to be copyrighted.

Spatola was seeking a share of the 25% ownership interest in the musical composition held by Derulo, as well as a share of Sony Music’s ownership of the sound recording. He claimed he was a co-author and co-producer of the song, alleging that he contributed original guitar and bass parts and created the song’s acoustic section during two recording sessions in April 2020.

The guitarist and producer sought a declaratory judgement of his joint authorship, as well as a pro rata share of profits through a court-ordered accounting. He contended that Derulo released the song without providing him the credit or royalties he was allegedly due.

But Derulo’s camp argued that Spatola was merely a musician for hire, not a co-author, and that he lacked creative control and was working under Derulo’s direction to replicate pre-existing music. They also asserted that there was no shared intent for co-authorship, and Spatola accepted a flat $2,000 fee while originally requesting instrumentalist credit—not author or producer status. Further, the defendants maintained that Spatola’s contributions were derivative and not copyrightable on their own.

“The jury devoted a significant portion of their lives to fulfill their sacred role in determining the outcome, and we thank them for their service,” said Joshua M. Rosenberg of Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton in Los Angeles, who represented Derulo.

“I just want to get back to the art, get back to creating my passion,” added Derulo, who also expressed his thanks to the jury.

Derulo testified during the trial, telling the jury that Spatola was hired for a straightforward role in executing musical instructions on a song that was already conceptually complete. Derulo said he was not looking to reinvent the song, “Laxed (Siren Beat),”—the viral instrumental track created by a New Zealand producer—only to build a more polished framework around it that would support his vocals.

The singer added that he personally dictated the musical direction for the guitar and bass parts that Spatola claimed to be his, and even demonstrated during a recorded deposition how he allegedly sang the lines to Spatola in the studio. Overall, he acknowledged that Spatola played well, but that the two had not worked in the capacity of an official collaborative songwriting process.