Photo Credit: Chloe Bailey for WBLS / CC by 3.0
Chloe Bailey faces a copyright infringement lawsuit from a songwriter who claims not to have been properly compensated for their work.
Chloe Bailey is facing Trouble in Paradise. The R&B singer, known mononymously as Chloe, is being sued by songwriter Melvin “4rest” Moore, under the claim he was not properly compensated for his work.
Moore is suing Bailey, as well as Parkwood Entertainment and Columbia Records for “copyright infringement, fraudulent misrepresentation, violations of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), civil conspiracy, and deceptive business practices.
According to Moore’s filing, the defendants failed to “appropriately credit or compensate” him for his contributions to Chloe’s songs, “Favorite,” “Might As Well,” and “Same Lingerie,” from her latest album, Trouble In Paradise.
The songs were allegedly written from Moore’s “personal and […] lived experiences,” and he “did not grant consent to the commercial exploitation” of his work. Notably, he is credited as a songwriter on “Same Lingerie” and “Might As Well,” but not on “Favorite,” according to BMI’s Songview repertory.
“My journey as a songwriter has been one of immense struggle and perseverance. I’ve faced homelessness for two years, only to achieve homeownership 17 years later. These experiences have shaped my resilience. But even after overcoming these obstacles and achieving success, I find myself still fighting for basic fairness in how I am compensated for my work,” said Moore in a statement to Rolling Stone.
Moore claims he made efforts to resolve the issue before getting litigious, with “good-faith attempts” across “almost 200 days,” as well as issuing a DMCA takedown notice. He is seeking monetary damages of up to $150,000 for each “intentional violation,” as well as a court order to stop further commercial use of the songs, and a complete investigation of the defendants’ revenue gained from the unauthorized use. Moreover, he is asking for repayment of all profits gained from such use, proper credit, punitive damages of $5 million per song, and more.