Most popular reggaetón music stolen from one song: lawsuit

Shutterstock

If you think that the drums and beats of many upbeat reggaetón songs sound alike, you are not alone: at least 160 artists, record companies and music labels are being sued for allegedly stealing the same reggae-meats-Latin-music beat from a company that says it owns the rights.

In calling the lawsuit that which “could bring reggaetón to its knees,” Conversation.com reported that Jamaican company Steely & Clevie Productions is suing the artists for alleged copyright infringement over sampling of the 1989 beat “Fish Market” in thousands of songs.

According to the lawsuit, accessed by the news analysis site, the defendants have sampled and “mathematically copied” for decades the percussion-heavy, slightly syncopated beat that originated in Jamaican music genres reggae and dancehall.

“It has since become the characteristic beat of reggaetón – a sound marked by strong percussion and catchy (usually Spanish) lyrics,” the site reported.