Reggaeton Gets Sued

It was revealed just this past week that basically all of Reggaeton is being sued. No, really. As you may or may not know, the massively popular genre from Latin-American and the Caribbean is actually based mostly on a few Jamaican riddims (the instrumental background or “rhythm” in contemporary Jamaican music). Now the production duo of Steely & Clevie, who wrote the riddim behind the massively popular early '90s hit "Dem Bow" by Shabba Ranks, want their bag for the riddim's use in Reggaeton over the last…oh…three-plus decades. The lawsuit includes Luis Fonsi’s “Despacito” (currently sitting as the most watched video on YouTube with a cool 8 billion plays), forty Daddy Yankee tracks, and a whole slew of other major Reggaeton hits including...Justin Bieber? So, Sam and Saxon thought they’d dive into all the reasons why this is a huge deal, and dig beyond just the big names being indicted, but consider things like when a very localized music and culture hits international markets and thus, a whole new set of laws around copyright. Also, the complexities of riddim culture in Jamaica, the role of streaming has played in Reggaeton's popularity, and why Dancehall never really reached the promised land of crossover success.

 

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