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The stakeholders in the alleged theft of summer hit Omunye are close to reaching a settlement.
Afrotainment CEO DJ Tira and gqom producer DJ LAG “have found a meeting of the minds and are settling details” around allegations that the beats on the track by Tira’s business partners, Distruction Boyz, were lifted without permission from DJ LAG’s Trip to New York.
LAG’s song was released months before Omunye.
This is according to sources close to the copyright settlement negotiations.
The allegations made headlines last month and rocked the burgeoning gqom scene.
City Press reported that a forensic music investigation commissioned by DJ LAG’s manager, Sevi Spanoudi of Black Major, revealed that the beats on the two tracks were identical.
READ: Investigation finds Omunye was stolen
Distruction Boyz denied the claims, saying they had bought the beats from Cape Town producer DJ Mphyd.
However, DJ Mphyd was unable to prove his track was posted online before DJ LAG’s.
This week, both parties expressed satisfaction that the matter was being resolved without lawyers.
“We are in talks to try and resolve this issue peacefully for the sake of the sound [gqom] that is currently ruling the dance scene and being warmly received internationally,” Tira told City Press.
“We don’t want to spend money we don’t have on fighting. We believe in DJ Mphyd’s production. We will address the press once we have finalised our talks.”
The sources told City Press that no money will have to change hands.
DJ LAG “will be credited as a songwriter as well as a licensor of the sound recording copyright on Omunye”, said one source.
As royalties are paid for the commercial use of Omunye and its heavy radio rotation in December, DJ LAG will be paid his share, which insiders say is what is being negotiated before the settlement can be signed.
DJ LAG’s representatives are said to be looking for about 40% worth of copyright shares.
“We are very happy we are in the process of settling this,” Spanoudi told City Press.
“It’s an important case for other artists who find themselves in this situation. It has proved to us that, if they have truth on their side, artists do have a voice and can claim what is rightfully theirs.”
