Independent label 2Point9 Records is suing Sony Music’s Ministry Of Sound Recordings through the UK courts over the 2019 DJ Regard remix of 2008 Jay Sean track ‘Ride It’.
The indie released and owns the copyright in the original track. The Sony label, it claims, infringed that copyright by releasing the remix, which “substantially sampled” the original, without getting a licence.
The dispute goes all the way back to 2019 when the Regard remix first went massive on TikTok. “We have been fighting our corner on this matter for five years now and won’t stop until we get justice”, says 2Point9 Records co-founder Billy Grant.
He accuses the major label division of “arrogance and dismissiveness” when dealing with his company, even though the Ministry Of Sound record label began as an indie itself.
“Why they think that this kind of behaviour against a small label is acceptable is bewildering”, Grant adds. "However, we are determined to make them realise that it is not OK to ride roughshod over the commercial rights of those in the independent sector and that there are consequences for doing so. Commencing legal action is the next step in that process”.
Regard first remixed ‘Ride It’ in 2017, but it was in 2019 that it went viral on TikTok. In the wake of that success, Ministry Of Sound signed the producer and then officially released his remix in July that year. The track then became a global hit and has since gone on to achieve over one billion streams on Spotify and more than half a billion YouTube views.
2Point9 Records was made aware of Ministry’s interest in the remix prior to its official release via Jay Sean’s management, the assumption being that a licensing deal would be done to cover the substantial sample in the new version. But that didn't happen.
Ultimately, the major opted to re-record the elements of the original track that featured in the remix, rather than get a licence to make use of the original. However, it’s claimed, that re-record didn’t happen until after the remix’s official release in July 2019. Something the Sony label allegedly admitted.
The indie explains, “When challenged, Ministry Of Sound Recordings first claimed that it had re-recorded the sample, but it later admitted its release still featured the 2Point9 recording. Ministry of Sound Recordings did then re-record the sample but only months after the first release, by which time the track had become a commercial success”.
Therefore, 2Point9 says, Ministry Of Sound Recordings did initially infringe its copyright. With no deal done regarding that initial release five years on, 2Point9 says it now has “no recourse other than the high court”.