Singer Chloe Bailey (aka Chlöe) is facing a copyright infringement lawsuit over three tracks on her sophomore album, 2024’s Trouble In Paradise.
Singer, songwriter and producer Melvin Moore, aka 4Rest, filed the suit on Thursday (February 20) in a US federal court, alleging that he wasn’t paid or credited for contributing lyrics to Favorite, Might As Well, and Same Lingerie.
On top of actual and statutory damages, the lawsuit is seeking $5 million in punitive damages per song.
“The lyrical contributions to the works by [4Rest] were deeply personal and inspired by his lived experiences, making the unauthorized commercial exploitation of the works even more egregious,” stated the complaint, which was filed in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York and can be read in full here.
Trouble In Paradise was not a major commercial success, but has gained some traction on streaming services. Favorite has 3.1 million streams on Spotify, while Might As Well has 635,000 and Same Lingerie has 620,000.
The album was released last August by Parkwood Entertainment, the label founded by Beyonce, and Sony Music Entertainment’s Columbia Records. Parkwood, Columbia and Sony are named as defendants in the suit.
According to the complaint, 4Rest worked on the lyrics with co-writers and producers working on the album including Uforo Ebong, aka BongoByTheWay, and only found out shortly before the album was released that his material was included in the album.
On August 8, the day before the release, 4Rest’s lawyer contacted Chloe Bailey’s lawyer to inform him that he had not consented to the use of his works, the complaint states.
The following day, the complaint alleges, “defendants and their legal counsel, like modern day swindlers, proceeded to fraudulently file copyright registration documents claiming exclusive authorship and ownership over the works.”
4Rest, through his lawyer, made “good faith attempts” at resolving the issue, but Bailey’s lawyer “instructed Plaintiff to sort the matter with Producer Bongo,” the complaint claims.
In early January, 4Rest issued a “cease and desist DMCA violation notice” to the defendants, but they “blatantly ignored plaintiff’s DMCA takedown request and continued to commercially exploit the works,” the complaint adds.
On top of the copyright violation allegations, the lawsuit also alleges fraudulent misrepresentation because “defendants submitted a fraudulent copyright registration for the works in question.” It also alleges civil conspiracy because “defendants devised and executed a deliberate scheme to falsely register the works under their own names to suppress evidence of plaintiff’s authorship.
“Based on information and belief, the defendants engaged in secret communications and behind-the-scenes agreements to exclude the plaintiff from all negotiations related to royalties, credit, and ownership of the works.”
“The lyrical contributions to the works by [4Rest] were deeply personal and inspired by his lived experiences, making the unauthorized commercial exploitation of the works even more egregious.”
Melvin Moore, aka 4Rest, in a legal complaint
Los Angeles-based, Grammy-nominated 4Rest has written for artists such as Nicki Minaj, Drake, French Montana, Big Sean, and Chris Brown. His credits include BTS’ For Youth, My Friends by Ty Dolla $ign feat. Lil Durk, and four tracks on John Legend’s 2022 album LEGEND.
Chloe Bailey, the sister of actress and singer Halle Bailey, first came to prominence as one half of the duo Chloe x Halle, which has released two albums so far, The Kids Are Alright (2018) and Ungodly Hour (2020). Chloe emerged as a solo artist with the 2021 track Have Mercy, which went viral on TikTok before debuting at No. 28 on the US Billboard Hot 100. The track is certified Platinum in the US, and has more than 217 million streams on Spotify.Music Business Worldwide
