Village People cop wins 50% of ‘YMCA’ rights
A San Diego federal jury has awarded Victor Willis, the former lead singer of the Village People, a larger ownership stake in 13 songs he’s credited with writing, including the disco-era megahit “Y.M.C.A.”
Willis had already won a ruling from the court in 2012 that determined he had at least one-third interest in 33 songs he co-wrote.
The jury’s decision late Wednesday upped his interest to 50 percent in 13 disputed compositions, not all of which were recorded by the Village People, and determined there were only two writers — not three — on “Y.M.C.A.,” which continues to earn millions of dollars per year.
Two music publishing companies, one of which is based in Paris, contended that music producer Henri Belolo wrote lyrics to the songs in French.
“Make no mistake about (it), this fight has always been about ‘Y.M.C.A.” Willis said in a statement released through his publicist. “The other songs are ancillary. But I’m excited that the world will now know that Y.M.C.A. is All-American, not French, and the song was written only by me and Jacques Morali.”
In a split verdict, the jury determined Willis had not met the required burden of proof with respect to 11 other disputed songs. That means Belolo will retain his rights as a co-author to those songs.
Attorney Robert Besser, who represented Belolo and the music companies, said he, too, was happy with the outcome of the trial. He said the verdict shows the jury believed Belolo, a co-founder of the Village People, had written song lyrics to the disputed songs including “In the Navy” and “Go West” in French, and that his character was unfairly “dragged through the mud” in court.
“We think the jury did a very good job,” said Besser, who is based in Los Angeles.
The case is expected to have a significant impact on the struggling music industry, whose members have been watching the case since 2011.
Brian Caplan, the lead attorney for Willis, said this case was the first of its kind dealing with a provision of the U.S. Copyright Act that gives recording artists, songwriters and other music copyright holders the ability — after 35 years — to recapture the copyright for their works themselves.
The law took effect in early 1978, making 2013 the first year in which musicians could terminate copyrights granted to publishing companies and record labels.
Caplan said the decisions in this matter “gave clarity as to what an author could and couldn’t do.”
Willis, who owns a home in Alpine, is described on his website as the “original lead singer of the Village People” and a prolific hit maker who sang and wrote songs including “Y.M.C.A.,” “In the Navy,” and “Macho Man.” While performing with the group, he dressed as the traffic cop, and later as a Navy officer.
Between 1977 and 1978, Willis signed a contract that essentially gave away most of his rights to the Village People’s songs to Paris-based Scorpio Music and its New York affiliate, Can’t Stop Productions.
Then, in 2011, more than 30 years later, he served notice to the companies that in two years he would be trying to regain control of his share of the songs.
Scorpio and Can’t Stop took Willis to court, contending he could not reclaim copyrights for songs that were written by more than one person. Willis was the only “author” who served a notice of termination.
A year later, U.S. District Judge Barry Ted Moskowitz in San Diego ruled that Willis could terminate his copyright grants, even if others had not sought to do the same.
The music publishing companies had also asserted Willis had worked for them as a “writer for hire,” who could not claim a right to songs for which “he provided some English lyrics.” They later withdrew that argument.
According the court documents, the main issue to be decided in the case was whether Belolo contributed to the writing of 24 disputed songs, including “Y.M.C.A.,” and therefore had an ownership interest in them.
The publishing companies contended that registrations filed with the U.S. Copyright Office list Belolo as one of three authors on each of the songs. But Willis’ lawyers disputed that claim, arguing that were only two writers: Willis, who wrote the lyrics, and Morali, who composed the music.
Because the verdict only affects copyright in the United States, Belolo will retain his co-authorship rights to the songs internationally.
