Billboard<\/em>. \u201cAs I sit in this courtroom today, I just think people are trying to make more than they otherwise would because it\u2019s me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\tYe was called to the stand on the third day of a trial pitting him against a company called Artist Revenue Advocates (ARA), a Texas company formed to fight on behalf of the four \u201cMSD PT2\u201d composers. During opening statements, the lead plaintiff\u2019s lawyer claimed Ye owes $564,046\u00a0in damages for unlicensed use of the recorded sample at the Atlanta stadium. The figure comprised a percentage of ticket sales, merchandise sales, Ye\u2019s streaming deal with Apple Music, and a portion of the revenues from the jacket he wore on stage and then released a day later through his Yeezy collaboration with Gap.<\/p>\n
\n\tThe four musicians \u2014 Khalil Abdul-Rahman, Sam Barsh, Dan Seeff, and Josh Mease \u2014 agreed to transfer their copyrights to ARA, \u201cso that they could seek some justice,\u201d their lawyers wrote in court filings. ARA initially sued over both the sampled sound recording of \u201cMSD PT2\u201d played at Ye\u2019s Atlanta listening event and the underlying composition of the one-minute instrumental track, which it claimed was improperly interpolated into the final version of \u201cHurricane,\u201d released in August 2021.<\/p>\n
\n\tIn February, however, the judge dismissed the potentially more lucrative composition claims, ruling the musicians had previously signed contracts assigning away their composition royalty rights under agreements that remained in effect. The musicians tried to argue those agreements had been waived through oral deals with former business partners, but the judge ruled any such changes had to be made in writing.<\/p>\n\n\n
\t\tRelated Content<\/p>\n<\/h2>\n<\/section>\n
\n\tBritton Monts, an ARA manager, testified Tuesday that the company was formed to \u201cacquire copyrights from working musicians\u201d who are \u201cunable to enforce their rights\u201d because \u201cthey can\u2019t afford it.\u201d He said ARA hoped to pursue additional cases, but he acknowledged the lawsuit against Ye was the company\u2019s only one so far.<\/p>\n
\n\tIn his opening statement, Ye\u2019s lead lawyer, Eduardo Martorell, suggested ARA was being financed by a backer trying to hide their identity. \u201cWho\u2019s behind it?\u201d Martorell asked jurors. \u201cWe don\u2019t know who owns it, because they won\u2019t tell us. Why not sue under your own name?\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tMartorell also told jurors the four musicians ultimately did receive songwriting credit on the final version of \u201cHurricane.\u201d He said they were listed among the song\u2019s 27 writers on Spotify and Apple Music, and that their combined share of the composition royalties was around 30 percent. After splitting those royalties with publishers, each musician received a writer\u2019s share of 3.85 percent, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n
\t\tTrending Stories<\/p>\n<\/h2>\n<\/section>\n
\n\tWhen Seeff testified Tuesday, he claimed he had received only \u201csome small payments\u201d tied to the song despite its commercial success. He also told jurors it was standard in the music industry for composers of instrumental music to receive 50 percent of a song\u2019s composition publishing, with the remaining 50 percent divided among the writers of the melody and lyrics.<\/p>\n
\n\tThe trial resumes Thursday.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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