Sarah McLachlan Sued Over Writing Credits
Darryl Neudorf may not be a familiar name, but he's claiming to have
co-written familiar tunes that appear on Sarah McLachlan's debut
album, Touch, and he is taking the matter to court. The recording
engineer (and onetime drummer for the Canadian band 54-40)
alleges that he provided key material for the music of "Vox,"
"Steaming," "Sad Clown," and "Strange World," and is thus entitled
to a share of the royalties. The case, which named McLachlan and
her record label, Nettwerk, as defendants, opened Monday in
Vancouver, B.C., in a closed court and is expected to last three
weeks. Much to the delight of several devoted fans, the Vancouver,
B.C., resident was present at the hearing.
Neurdorf claims that Nettwerk hired him to polish up songs written
by the then-19-year-old McLachlan. "[Neudorf] is not claiming sole
credit, but rather is just asking for proper credit and fair credit as
accorded to the contribution that he made," said Neudorf's lawyer,
Jonathan Simkin, during testimony. According to Simkin, the former
skinman has been trying to get credit for the songs since soon after
Touch was released in 1989. The album has sold over half a million
copies worldwide.
McLachlan does not deny working with him, but says his role was
not large enough to warrant royalty checks. During a break in court
proceedings, Jennifer Conkie, the Lilith Fair founder's lawyer, told
reporters that Neudorf was "paid handsomely" for his services,
though she didn't specify the amount of his compensation.
Neudorf planned to call to the stand two of McLachlan's former
bandmates from October Game, a Halifax, Nova Scotia, group she
belonged to in her teens, to testify that she did not write songs for
which she has since taken credit. Conkie objected to the ploy,
calling it an attempt to "blacken Ms. McLachlan's name."
"I have written those songs," McLachlan told reporters at the
courthouse. "It's being contested. I want to stand up for my rights
and that I wrote those songs. It [the trial] is about fairness."
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Closing Arguments Begin in McLachlan Copyright Trial
Closing arguments in the copyright trial over Sarah
McLachlan's first album began on Wednesday with an
attack on the Lilith Fair founder's credibility.
McLachlan and her Canadian record company, Nettwerk, were
accused of changing their stories about producer
Darryl Neudorf's role in the 1988 Touch album,
and unfairly portraying him as an "ego monster"
attempting to cash in on her later success. "On
some issues, Ms. McLachlan literally changed
her story, her position four or five times,"
Neudorf's attorney Jonathan Simkin said.
Neudorf is seeking co-authorship credit for four
songs on the album, which was not originally a
big seller but helped McLachlan land a U.S.
recording contract. The songs in question are
"Vox," "Steaming," "Sad Clown," and "Strange
World." The trial originally was scheduled to last
less than a month, but legal wrangling has
dragged it out for more than half a year.
Lawyers for McLachlan and Nettwerk
Productions acknowledge Neudorf aided
McLachlan in completing the album, but they
maintain his role did not warrant production or
songwriting credits. The defense will present its
closing argument later in the week.
The trial has mixed legal wrangling with musical
performance. McLachlan played piano during her
testimony last year to demonstrate technical
issues raised by the defense about songwriting.
She did not attend Wednesday's hearing.
Simkin dismissed suggestions that Neudorf was
attempting to cash in on McLachlan's success,
saying that his client has been seeking
compensation for his work since at least 1992 霊before McLachlan's career took off. "He is simply
seeking fair compensation for the contribution he
made to the albums and to the [songs]," Simkin
told Judge Bruce Cohen.
Neudorf has not yet said how much in damages
he might seek if the court finds Nettwerk and
McLachlan liable for copyright infringement.
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