Yesterday Music Times reported on the Marvin Gaye estate suing Robin Thicke for allegedly stealing from the former's "Got To Give It Up" in order to make "Blurred Lines." Today's music writing lawsuit involves producer Teddy Riley suing Lady Gaga over the songwriting credits for her song "Teeth."
Part of the reason for the newsworthiness in this story is its lack of timeliness. As any true little monster knows, "Teeth" was released on Gaga's 2010 "EP" The Fame Monster. Why Riley is just bringing suit now is debatable. He did, however, bring a lawsuit earlier during 2013 against his daughter Taja Riley, who is listed as a songwriter for the track. Teddy is given production credit along with Gaga, but the producer claims his daughter committed fraud and copyright abuse by earning a deal with EMI for her role in the song.
As far as his beef with the performer, Riley more recently claimed that he was promised 25 percent royalties off of "Teeth" when it was released on Fame Monster, and he hasn't been. Details haven't been released to clarify whether this promise, if real, was contractually noted, but Riley is seeking $500,000 from Gaga. Admittedly, that's far from the most money we've seen someone ask for during similar lawsuits but teeth, arguably, was the smallest track on an album that featured smash hits such as "Bad Romance" and "Telephone."
"Teeth" was Riley's only work on the album, as most of the production and songwriting on the album was handled by Gaga and/or producer RedOne.
