The Village People have recently added a sixth character to their gang; a lawyer. One of the members of the Village People, Victor Willis, has brought suit in regards to who wrote 24 of the group’s songs, including “ Y.M.C.A.”
Next Monday, trial will begin in regards to Willis’ share of the royalties. He claims that he is entitled to 50% of the shares since he co-authored the songs with Jacques Morali. However, the publishers, But Scorpio Music and Can’t Stop Productions, claim that there was a third member, Henri Belolo, involved in the song creation and Willis barely contributed to the 24 songs. The publishers contend that the songs were originally French songs that Belolo adapted, and that Willis should only be entitled to 33% of the royalty shares.
The judge in this trial will mainly be tasked with which party has the burden to prove that Belolo did or did not contribute to the songs. Willis may have to disprove the credentials of Belolo’s copyright registration certificates, in which he believes to be fraudulent documents.
In addition, various witnesses from both parties will appear at trial. On behalf of Belolo, Felipe Rose will testify that he saw Belolo and Morali collaborating on the songs together. While Willis will have his ex-wife, Phylicia Rashad, his former secretary, Hope Grossbard, and a former drummer in the Village People’s studio band, Russell Dabney, testify on his behalf. Many of Willis’ witnesses will testify that they saw him write the songs as well as draft various agreements and copyright filings in regards to 24 songs.
If Willis loses this suit he will lose approximately $30 million. This will be a hard blow for Willis after winning his suit in 2012, in which he terminated his share of the Village People’s songs and increased his royalty payments substantially.