Latin music artist Feid has been hit with a lawsuit for alleged infringement on his 2022 hit Ferxxo 100 and two other songs.
Sebastien Graux, a Grammy-nominated composer of guitar loops, alleges that samples of his music were used on Feid’s tracks Ferxxo 100, X20X and De Tanto Chimbiar without credit or compensation, despite the songs’ producers initially telling him he would be credited and paid.
In a complaint filed with the US District Court for the Southern District of California on Monday (June 10), Graux says he was given “months of reassurances” by the producers that he would be appropriately credited and compensated for the songs, but was eventually given such compensation terms that he concluded he was being “taken advantage of by the creative team behind the three infringing songs.”
“Graux attempted to resolve this dispute outside of litigation. However, those attempts were wholly unsuccessful, necessitating the present action,” states the complaint, which can be read in full here.
The complaint names as defendants Salomon Villada Hoyos, aka Feid; Universal Music Group, whose label Universal Music Latin released the allegedly infringing tracks; Colombian label Icon Music; along with Sky Rompiendo and Jowan, who are both credited as producers on the three Feid tracks.
Colombian-born Feid’s Ferxxo 100 was released in June 2022 and has been certified Gold (Latin) in the US, and 2x Platinum in Spain. The song’s official video has 245 million views on YouTube and has been streamed more than 444 million times on Spotify.
A native of Belgium, Graux describes himself as a four-time Grammy nominee whose guitar loops have been featured in works by Ricky Martin, Farruko, Rema, Don Toliver, NBA YoungBoy, and Booba. His LinkedIn page identifies him as the owner of GrauxGuitarLoops.com.
In his complaint, Graux alleges that, during a trip to Colombia in September 2021, he met with the team at Icon Music, which led to him meeting with two Icon producers, Sky Rompiendo and Jowan, who were working with Feid at the time.
“Graux was ecstatic at the opportunity to be featured on these songs and looked forward to receiving a producer credit for his contributions to the songs’ melody and overall composition.”
Legal complaint filed by Sebastien Graux against Feid, UMG, et al
During a later trip to Miami, he gave Jowan access to several audio files containing his copyrighted works. Jowan later reportedly informed Graux that he used three of those tracks on songs for Feid’s upcoming album.
“Graux was ecstatic at the opportunity to be featured on these songs and looked forward to receiving a producer credit for his contributions to the songs’ melody and overall composition,” the complaint states.
“However, despite months of reassurances from Jowan and others associated with defendants that Graux would be credited and compensated appropriately for his contributions, plaintiff still has not been paid at all for or properly credited on Ferxxo 100, X20X, and De Tanto Chimbiar.
The complaint says that Graux “came to understand that the creative team and record label was not interested in providing him with the full credit and compensation that he deserved. When Graux took steps to protect his intellectual property, creative interests, and career, the relationship with the team soured leading to this action.”
Two months after the release of Ferxxo 100, Sky Rompiendo’s company made an offer to Graux that Graux’s management team described as “one of the least favorable proposals they have ever received,” the complaint alleges.
There followed a series of back-and-forth negotiations, which ended without agreement but with the release of three songs featuring Graux samples, according to the complaint.
“To date no resolution has been reached,” the complaint states.
Graux’ is asking the court for compensatory or statutory damages, a producer credit on the three songs, and compensation for attorneys’ fees.Music Business Worldwide