Jason Derulo Sued For “Savage Love” Royalties, Writing Credit

Jason Derulo is being sued over unpaid royalties and unlisted writing credit for his hit song, “Savage Love.”

According to Radar Online, Matthew Spatola, also known as Matty Spats, is suing Jason and Sony Music for not being listed as a co-author in the track’s official liner notes.

“[Derulo] unilaterally released ‘Savage Love,’ without providing any credit whatsoever to Spatola for the work they jointly created together,” the lawsuit details. “This lawsuit is filed to right that wrong, and to ensure that Spatola is properly credited as a co-writer of ‘Savage Love’ and compensated for his contributions thereto.”

“Although Spatola had produced at Derulo’s home studio before ‘Savage Love,’ those sessions involved a larger group of contributors and were entirely unrelated to ‘Savage Love.’ To Spatola’s knowledge, none of the music created at those earlier sessions was ever released by Derulo.

“‘Savage Love’ was different – the writing and conceptualizing of the instrumental composition and the creation of the actual recording occurred when Spatola and Derulo were the only contributors present in Derulo’s studio collaborating together to create ‘Savage Love.’”

As the track amassed success throughout its life, Spats claimed he was never approached about any possible remixes or reimagined versions. He added that he wasn’t aware that BTS would be added for an official remix of the smash single, even though he contacted Derulo about adding him to the song’s list of contributors. “At no time did Derulo or Sony ever get permission from, account to, or even enter into any contract with Spatola for his contributions to ‘Savage Love’ and the BTS remix.”

“If Spatola had been properly credited as a co-author and co-producer of a hit like ‘Savage Love,’ he would have received additional opportunities that were lost due to this lack of credit,” the suit reads. “Composers credited with co-writing hit songs as writers are invited to work with other top performers in the industry, along with other lucrative opportunities.”