Mr. Vegas Seeks Injunction Against VP Records Over Disputed Songs That Earn $35,000 Per Year

Dancehall artist Mr. Vegas has requested preliminary injunctive relief against VP Records over their “continued collection of royalties” for several of his hit songs, which are the subject of a copyright infringement and breach of contract lawsuit.

The songs are between one to two decades old and collectively still bring in approximately $35,000 USD per year in revenue, according to court records obtained by DancehallMag.

They include Heads High (1997) and its Kill ‘Em Wid it Re-mix (1998), Sucky Ducky (1998), Hot Wuk (2006), and Gallis (2009). The lawsuit also involves four songs from Sean Paul’s debut album Stage One (2000), namely Haffi Get De Gal Ya (Hot Gal Today) , Tiger Bone , and the skit Nicky , all of which featured Mr. Vegas; and Check It Deeply , which was produced by Mr. Vegas.

The lawsuit was originally filed in a New York court almost two years ago.

There are settlement discussions taking place between the two parties, with the next mediation conference set for November 30, 2022, the court records show.

In the meantime, Vegas is urging the Court to prohibit VP Records from selling the disputed tracks and exploiting his “image and likeness” while the lawsuit is being litigated.

Alternatively, the Bruk It Down deejay has asked that the Court order the Reggae label to place monies, from the ongoing sales of the disputed songs, into an escrow account pending the outcome of the suit. “No prejudice will inure to VP if monies are held in escrow,” noted Vegas’ motion, which was filed on August 1, 2022. 

In July, when Vegas signaled his intention to file the motion, VP had described the move as a “pressure tactic” employed by the Dancehall star to force a favorable settlement. 

In their full response to the motion, filed on August 29, 2022, VP also contended that they, Sean Paul, several producers and writers, and the listening public would all be harmed if the injunction were granted to remove the songs from marketplaces and streaming platforms.

“Takedowns will hurt the Defendants’ relationships with the other stakeholders in these recordings, such as Sean Paul and the various producers, as well as the other writers in the compositions, to whom Defendants account and who count on Defendants to promote these recordings and honor the agreements in place with respect to these works,” VP explained in the filing.  “Even the placement of monies in escrow would deny all of the stakeholders their rights.”

“In addition to such harms, which cannot be compensated for in dollars, there will be lost income of approximately $35,000 per year on the titles discussed,” VP noted.

The company has again contended that they own or have licensed the right to sell and market the songs which are at issue in the lawsuit.

In particular, they claim that Mr. Vegas does not own Heads High, Hot Gal Today, and Gallis.

With regards to Heads High and Gallis the label claimed that they had secured rights to the songs from their producers, Haldane “Danny” Browne and Shaun “DJ Chrome” Chablal, respectively.

VP also said they had commissioned producers Steely and Clevie (Wycliff Johnson and Cleveland Browne) for Hot Gal Today, which first appeared on Sean Paul’s Stage One album and then on Mr. Vegas’ Damn Right album.

On the matter of Heads High, which is Vegas’ most streamed song, VP also claimed that Vegas knew that Danny Browne owned the song.

“In fact, during the pendency of this action, Mr. Vegas asked his publishing administrator, Greensleeves Publishing Limited, to work with him and VP Music Group, to obtain permission from Mr. Browne so that approximately 20 seconds of the recording Heads High could be used at the beginning of a music video in which Mr. Vegas would be featured. The song is named “Suelta.” Although the name of the licensee is Rich Music, Inc., it was Mr. Vegas who arranged for the license to be issued to Rich Music, Inc., in exchange for a $3,000.00 payment so that the recording Heads High could be used.”

“If Mr. Vegas owned the recording Heads High, he would not have sought to pay for a license from Mr. Browne,” they argued.

VP also noted that they and their subsidiary Greensleeves account to Mr. Vegas for 37 recordings, on which he appears and for which, according to them, he regularly receives royalty statements. 

Most of these records are not subject to litigation, VP said.

“Mr. Vegas is clearly not harmed by his association with VP Music or Greensleeves and their sale of recordings on which he appears,” they added.

The Hon. Judge Pamela Chen is presiding over the lawsuit, while the Hon Judge Marcia Henry is handling the settlement conferences.

Vegas is being represented by the Law Office of Colleen Kerwick, while VP is represented by attorney Daniel J. Aaron.