Reggae veteran Max Romeo pursues $15 million lawsuit against Universal Music over unpaid royalties

Legendary reggae artist Max Romeo has filed a $15 million lawsuit against Universal Music Group and PolyGram Publishing over unpaid royalties dating back to 1976, according to a report by DancehallMag. 

The 78-year-old Jamaican artist, real name Maxwell Livingston Smith, is claiming almost 50 years of unpaid royalties on 19 songs. 

The dispute concerns royalties from his 1976 album ‘War Ina Babylon’, as well as his 1977 album, ‘Reconstruction’, including the tracks ‘War ‘Ina Babylon’, ‘One Forward’, and his most famous release ‘Chase The Devil’ – sampled by the likes of The Prodigy, Kanye West and Jay-Z.

When Smith signed with Island Records, he entered into two agreements which promised him 50% publishing on the compositions, as well as 25% of the revenue received from the recordings. Island Records was later sold to PolyGram Publishing in a $300 million acquisition deal, which then merged with Universal Music Group. According to Smith’s legal complaint, the two labels have since breached both contractual agreements.

According to the case, Universal Music Group and its predecessors are alleged to have neglected to provide any royalties for the The Prodigy's sampling of his music for their track, ‘Out of Space’. Likewise, ‘Chase The Devil’ was used by Jay Z in his 2003 release, ‘The Black Album’, which achieved sales exceeding 3.5 million copies in the United States.  The track also made an appearance in the 2011 film Paul, while ‘War Ina Babylon’ was featured in Idris Elba's 2018 film, Yardie.

‘Chase The Devil’ was officially licensed for inclusion in the video game ‘Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas’, which Smith's legal complaint describes as "one of the most outstanding video games ever created and one of the best-selling video games in history."

At the time, Smith reportedly received $1,250 as a "synchronization fee" for the song's inclusion in the game, and an additional $1,250 for its appearance on the official soundtrack.

Smith’s legal action against Universal Music Group and PolyGram commenced in May 2021 with his agent Music Justice. He filed a lawsuit on 15th December 2022, with the case being re-filed on 29th September 2023. 

According to his legal complaint, Smith saw some renumeration in September 2021, and was transferred $124,565.04. However, it’s claimed that the royalty statements Universal Music Group has provided reveal the label “improperly deducted substantial sums from Smith's royalty accounting without explanation or justification”. 

Smith is also attempting to receive publishing royalties through legal action from PolyGram for global radio play for his tracks. The revenue gained from global radio play is “significantly higher than the mechanical royalties (linked to physical sales of records),” his legal complaint stated. 

Speaking to DancehallMag last week, Smith said: “I have never been paid, I can’t say much about it. It is being taken care of...so I don’t want to talk too much about the subject. Maybe in a couple of months from now, you can call me back, and we can discuss it openly, so hopefully it will be resolved.”

Sharing the news to fans on Instagram, the Reggae veteran posted: “After 47 years, I have exhausted every resource available to me to get this matter rectified. I had to sit on the side as my most eminent piece of work was exploited without proper compensation.”

“I have seen and heard my music and voice being used in numerous commercial ventures and have only reaped from the opportunity to perform these songs for my fans live in concert.”

You can read the full legal complaint here.