BMG sued by Gap Band heirs over Uptown Funk royalties
The heirs of Robert and Ronnie Wilson – two thirds of The Gap Band – have sued BMG over allegations they are owed royalties stemming from the cut of Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars song ‘Uptown Funk’ that they received back in 2015.As you may remember, the five writers of The Gap Band’s 1979 song ‘Oops Upside Your Head’ – including Robert and Ronnie Wilson – were given co-writer credits on ‘Uptown Funk’ in 2015, following the latter track’s release in late 2014.That move acknowledged the similarities between the two songs, and was made in the wake of the ruling in the big ‘Blurred Lines’ song-theft legal battle, after which the music industry became more nervous about the copyright implications of new songs being heavily influenced by old songs.As well as the credits, each of the ‘Oops Upside Your Head’ writers also got 3.4% of the ‘Uptown Funk’ copyright. That was negotiated via a deal between the publishers of ‘Uptown Funk’ and the then publisher of ‘Oops Upside Your Head’, Minder Music.Shortly after that deal Minder Music was acquired by BMG, hence it’s involvement in the new legal battle.