Musician and one-time Warner Music exec Jake Broido has sued his former employer and Universal Pictures in a dispute over his contribution to the Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth song ‘See You Again’. which famously appears on the soundtrack to ‘Furious 7’. Broido claims that the major label and the film studio have together deprived him of the rights and royalties he is due from that contribution.
According to a lawsuit filed with the courts in California, when Broido “inquired of Warner regarding any monies he was owed” for provided backing vocals to the track, “he was falsely assured that the company was looking after his interests”, when in fact the major was busy employing a “scheme to deprive him of his rights and due compensation”.
The Universal studio, meanwhile, has “exploited Broido’s talents at a signature moment” in ‘Furious 7’ without even bothering to list him in the film’s credits.
Broido claims that he was employed by a company that provided admin services to Warner Music back in 2015 when Puth was working on a song for the ‘Furious 7’ soundtrack that would also act as a tribute to ‘Fast & Furious’ actor Paul Walker, who had died in a car crash in 2013.
While working in Warner’s offices, Broido was allegedly approached by Puth who asked him if he knew how to perform ‘gang vocals’, described in the lawsuit as “a blend of vocals almost reaching screaming designed to generate significant emotion in the listener”.
Broido explained that he was “highly accomplished at that style of singing”, which prompted Puth to bring him into the studio where ‘See You Again’ was being written. Once there, the lawsuit alleges, Broido contributed to both the songwriting and recording that was later used in the ‘Furious 7’ soundtrack.
“Broido’s skill and professionalism as a gang singer manifested itself in shaping the arrangement and orchestration of the song”, the lawsuit claims. Meanwhile, “the power of Broido’s performance” was "demonstrated" by the fact the film’s makers chose to use his backing vocals “essentially alone to provide the emotional backdrop to the farewell to Walker” and his character Brian O'Conner.
Despite all that, the lawsuit claims, Broido was never given a co-writer credit on the song, nor has he been paid any royalties for his performance. And the US IP Rights Distribution Fund - which pays royalties to session musicians and backing vocalists when recordings are played on online and satellite radio - was told by Warner that the backing vocals on the track had been provided by unnamed “A&R staffers”.
Broido says he wasn’t asked to sign any paperwork when invited into the studio by Puth. That’s important because it means the label and studio can’t claim that his involvement - as either a songwriter or a performer - was on a ‘work-for-hire’ basis, which under US copyright law would make the label or studio the default owner of the copyrights in the music.
And while Broido did later work directly for Warner, at the time he was employed by an admin services company that in turn had Warner as a client, so his employment contract at that point in 2015 in no way covered his time in the studio contributing to ‘See You Again’.
With all that in mind, Broido wants the court to declare that he has a share in the publishing rights associated with the song, as well as lots of damages from Warner and Universal for breach of contract and fiduciary duty, and fraudulent concealment, among other unlawful conduct.