Gloria Gaynor sues music producer for alleged copyright infringement, breach of contract

I Will Survive singer Gloria Gaynor and songwriter Robin Randall have sued music producer called Joel Diamond, alleging that Diamond and his companies improperly claimed rights to their works and failed to pay royalties owed.

The lawsuit seeks to have Diamond’s contracts between Gaynor and Randall terminated, and seeks at least $2 million in damages, royalties owed and legal fees.

In the suit filed in a New York federal court on Friday (July 26), Gaynor alleges that she entered into a contract with Diamond in 1983, and that Diamond has since claimed that this a work-for-hire contract, meaning that all rights to the songs Gaynor created under the contract belong to Diamond.

Gaynor denies this, and says she continues to own all the rights to the songs she created and performed.

“Since the inception of the alleged recording agreement, despite Gaynor’s repeated requests for an accounting thereof, defendants have failed to pay any royalties, provide transparency as to who Gaynor’s music was licensed to or any demonstration that Gaynor’s music was protected,” states Gaynor’s legal complaint, which can be read in full here.

According to the complaint, Diamond’s companies claim ownership of the master recordings and publishing rights for the songs You’re All I Need To Get By, More Than Enough, I’ve Been Watching You, Bull’s Eye, Strive, Chain of Whispers, and Eeny-Meeny-Mack-A-Rack.

Diamond’s companies also claim to own the master recording rights to “After the Lovin’” and “I Am What I Am,” and the publishing rights to Only In A Love Song, according to the complaint.

Joel Diamond is named as a defendant in the lawsuit, as are a number of companies the complaint says are controlled by him, including Joel Diamond Entertainment, Silver Blue Productions and Ocean Blue Music.

Joining the lawsuit as a plaintiff is songwriter Robin Randall, who worked as a team with her mother Judithe Randall until the elder Randall’s death in 2002.

The younger Randall alleges that, in 2000, Diamond committed fraud by convincing the elder Randall to sign over ownership rights to the songs written by the duo, at a time when the elder Randall had begun to show signs of mental incapacitation.

“Defendants’ improper dealings have significantly depleted the income that plaintiffs would otherwise be entitled to receive.”

Legal complaint filed by Gloria Gaynor and Robin Randall

In 2001, the year before her death, Judithe Randall was admitted to hospital and diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

“Diamond fraudulently induced, and otherwise wrongfully caused Judithe Randall to sign over her ownership rights to many copyrighted works, including but not limited to Forever Friends, Just Friends, Close My Eyes and Two Souls One Breath,” the complaint states.

“The contracts were fraudulently and wrongfully obtained by inducing an incapacitated person to sign documents whose content and purpose she was incapable of understanding, and to execute those documents for both herself and her daughter without her daughter’s knowledge.”

While the part of the case involving Robin Randall is complicated by the issue of her late mother’s mental health more than two decades ago, the part involving Gaynor is complicated by an apparent lack of documentation.

“The precise dates and nature of the agreements between defendants and plaintiff Gaynor as well as defendants and third parties are currently unknown to Gaynor, as this information is in the sole possession, custody and control of defendants and, although requested by plaintiffs’ representatives, defendants have yet to disclose this information to plaintiffs,” the complaint states.

“Despite requests, the recording agreement has not been provided to Gaynor… The recording agreement would have required for payment of royalties to Gaynor as writer and recording artist.”

The lawsuit alleges breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, fraud, copyright infringement and unjust enrichment, and asks the court for a declaration that the contracts in question are terminated.

Diamond and his companies’ “improper dealings have significantly depleted the income that plaintiffs would otherwise be entitled to receive,” the lawsuit alleges.

The 80-year-old Gaynor is a two-time Grammy winner known for her hits I Will Survive, Let Me Know (I Have a Right), I Am What I Am,  and a cover of Never Can Say Goodbye, among others. I Will Survive was inducted into the Library of Congress in 2017.

According to the complaint, Gaynor continues to tour, appearing at various music festivals.

“The contracts were fraudulently and wrongfully obtained by inducing an incapacitated person to sign documents whose content and purpose she was incapable of understanding, and to execute those documents for both herself and her daughter without her daughter’s knowledge.”

Legal complaint against Joel Diamond by Gloria Gaynor and Robin Randall

Robin Randall has been a songwriter, recording artist and music teacher for more than 45 years, whose list of credits includes the hit “Tomorrow Doesn’t Matter Tonight” by Starship, “Where Are You Now?” by Roxus and “Last Time” by Agnetha Faltskog.

She has also written music for TV shows including Baywatch, Starting Over, Tough Love, Confessions of a Teen Idol, and The Amy Fisher Story.

According to the website of Silver Blue Productions, Joel Diamond is a two-time Grammy nominee who has produced 47 Gold and Platinum-certified recordings, and has had more than 100 Billboard-charting records.

The website says he has “held senior positions in both executive and creative capacities for major music companies, including Sony.”

Diamond isn’t the only one who stands accused of improperly exploiting Gloria Gaynor’s work. Last month, recording companies owned by the global majors, Sony Music Group, Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group, sued AI music company Suno, alleging that the AI’s developers used copyrighted music without permission to build their instant music generator.

According to a forensic analysis by AI music specialist Ed Newton-Rex, Gaynor’s I Will Survive could be one of the tracks on which Suno was illicitly trained.Music Business Worldwide