Jason Derulo sparred with an opposing trial lawyer on Tuesday (May 5) about who deserves credits and royalties for his 2020 chart-topper “Savage Love.”
The singer faced cross-examination in an ongoing Los Angeles federal trial over the credits for “Savage Love,” a viral TikTok hit from August 2020 that later hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 thanks to a remix featuring BTS. Matthew Spatola, who is credited as a session musician on the track, is alleging he’s also entitled to writing and producing splits.
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Derulo testified during his direct examination last week that while Spatola “played a beautiful guitar and bass,” the plaintiff “created absolutely nothing” for “Savage Love.” On Tuesday, it was the Spatola team’s turn to question Derulo and push back on those claims.
“Do you think that if you contribute creatively to a song, you should get writing credit?” Spatola’s lawyer, Christopher Frost, asked Derulo during the cross-examination.
“I love giving people their just due,” responded Derulo. “The last thing that I’ve ever wanted to do was take something from someone. If Mr. Spatola created the [melody], I would absolutely have given him credit.”
The two men went back and forth about whether Spatola’s work did, in fact, rise to the level of creation. The exchange was at times combative — such as when Frost grilled Derulo about differences between the “Savage Love” guitar part played by Spatola and the synth guitar on the song’s original source material: “Laxed – Siren Beat” by Jawsh 685.
“Mr. Spatola delivered organic guitar, yes or no?” asked Frost.
“The melody all existed in ‘Laxed — Siren Beat,’” replied Derulo.
“Answer my question,” pressed Frost. “None of those instruments existed in ‘Laxed – Siren Beat’ in organic form, right?”
“The melody existed,” Derulo insisted in his response, “but he re-played it on an organic guitar.”
Derulo and Frost sparred as well about the fact that Spatola never signed a so-called work-for-hire agreement, which under copyright law would have confirmed that he was only a session musician without any copyright ownership rights. Instead, Derulo merely texted Spatola after their April 2020 recording sessions asking, “1K good each day?”
“You’ve routinely had session musicians sign work-for-hire agreements, right?” Frost asked Derulo.
“I don’t have knowledge of that,” replied Derulo, adding that his business team normally handles paperwork. He said “Savage Love” was recorded at the height of COVID-19 quarantine restrictions, “so the people that would typically be in place to give him an agreement just weren’t there.”
The trial is slated to wrap up on Wednesday (May 6) with closing arguments from both sides. The jury will then begin deliberations to decide whether Spatola is right that he deserves creative credits.
