Daddy Yankee, Black Eyed Peas Hit With Copyright Lawsuit Over Unauthorized 'Scatman' Sample in 'Bailar Contigo'

Daddy Yankee, Black Eyed Peas Hit With Copyright Lawsuit Over Unauthorized 'Scatman' Sample in 'Bailar Contigo'

By Marcus Delano Thompson

December 29, 2024 at 09:53 PM

Daddy Yankee, Black Eyed Peas, and Sony Music face legal action over allegedly using an unauthorized sample of "Scatman (Ski-Ba-Bop-Ba-Dop-Bop)" in their 2022 track "Bailar Contigo."

Man singing into microphone onstage

Man singing into microphone onstage

Denmark's Iceberg Records filed a lawsuit in California federal court, claiming ownership of the master recording and 50% of publishing rights to the 1994 Scatman John track. While the defendants secured permission to use the underlying composition, they allegedly sampled the actual recording without authorization.

"Bailar Contigo," featuring Daddy Yankee, appears on Black Eyed Peas' Elevation album and has accumulated nearly 70 million Spotify streams. The agreement granted Iceberg Records a 75% compositional stake and 5% master income interest in the song.

According to the lawsuit, despite attempting to disguise the sample, the similarities between both tracks are unmistakable. Iceberg claims the defendants "simply lied" about not using the recording to avoid higher licensing fees.

The plaintiff seeks damages and attorneys' fees for direct and contributory infringement, as well as fraud. Sony Music has not responded to requests for comment, and Iceberg founder Manfred Zähringer declined to comment on the ongoing case.

This case joins recent music copyright disputes, including a dismissed complaint against Roddy Ricch over "The Box" and another sample-related lawsuit involving Travis Scott's "Stargazing" and "Til Further Notice."

Cartoon monkey wearing golden crown

Cartoon monkey wearing golden crown

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Morrison Hotel album cover

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