Why Bad Bunny, Tainy and Other “Safaera” Collaborators are Being Sued for Copyright Infringement
Why Bad Bunny, Tainy and Other “Safaera” Collaborators are Being Sued for Copyright Infringement
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The rights holder for DJ Playero’s Playero 37 mixtape asserts that the “Safaera” artists did not obtain the proper clearance and license to sample three tracks off of the mixtape
Bad Bunny, along with the entirety of his collaborators on the smash single “Safaera,” have all been sued by AOM Music Inc. for direct and contributory copyright infringement according to court documents (embedded below) filed in California federal court on September 27.
The suit names featured rappers on the track Jowell y Randy, Ñengo Flow, producers Tainy and DJ Orma, in addition to Bad Bunny’s label Rimas Entertainment, and several other related labels and publishing companies.
Omar Merced, the son of BM Records founder Pedro Merced, is the registered agent for AOM Music, Inc. and filed the suit on its behalf.
The lawsuit claims that “Safaera” incorporates music from DJ Playero’s classic Playero series of mixtapes.
Merced is requesting $150,000 in statutory damages for each of the three works infringed on or the equivalent of actual damages in the way of any and all gains, profits and advantages derived from the release of “Safaera”.
As stated in the court documents, “Safaera” was an instant success for (the) Defendants, having been streamed over one billion times between YouTube and Spotify alone.”
Merced is also asking for an injunction to be levied which would impound or destroy the infringing works as well as reimbursement of associated attorneys fees.
AOM Music, Inc. v. Benito A… by Pitchfork News
The lawsuit names the three songs in question as “Besa Tu Cuerpo,” “Chocha con Bicho,” and “Sigan Bailando” which are on DJ Playero’s Playero 37: Underground and Playero Greatest Hits: Street Mix 2 mixtapes. The suit goes on to allege that portions of these three tracks are contained within “Safaera.”
A section in the court documents displays a side-by-side lyrical comparison and exhibit that depicts the musical notation of each track juxtaposed with that of “Safaera”.
On information and belief, Defendants were well aware of the need to“clear” the various third- party works sampled on “Safaera” by obtaining licenses to each, as demonstrated by the fact that, for example, Melissa Elliott p/k/a Missy Elliot is credited as a writer on “Safaera” due to its sampling of her hit song “Get Ur Freak On.” Indeed, “Safaera” was briefly removed from the music streaming service Spotify on May 14, 2020 due to Defendants’ failure to clear a sample on the track and was later restored upon obtaining such clearance. However, at no point did Defendants ever “clear” the Playero Works for use on “Safaera.
Excerpt from AOM Music, Inc. lawsuit filing
DJ Playero’s mixtapes from the early 1990s are credited with being the foundation to the conversion of reggae en español into Puerto Rican reggaetón.
A multitude of artists including Daddy Yankee, Yaga y Mackie, Don Omar, Nicky Jam and more jump started their careers on the freestyle mix tapes, which ironically themselves sampled classic dancehall reggae riddims and sound effects.
“Safaera” was released on February 29, 2020 as a track featured on Bad Bunny’s second album YLHQMDLG (Yo Lo Hago Que Me De La Gana).
Yasmin Garcia is an Author/Contributor of the StreamLINE Music Blog. She is also an interior decorator, avid concert goer, and has appeared in various podcasts surrounding multiple topics. Yasmin is a graduate of Monroe University.