Jason Derulo's Savage Love Battle: Who Really Shaped the Hit?

0:00On April 30th, Jason DeRulo hit the witness stand in a Los Angeles federal court this week. Flat-out denying he owed guitarist Matthew Spatola, writing credit or royalties on the smash hit, Savage Love. He says Patola was just a hired session player for two three-hour gigs back in April 2020, nothing more. DeRulo explained the track built off that viral laxed beat and melody from New Zealand producer, Josh A685, which blew up on social media. During the early pandemic days, he testified he never invited Spatola to co-create, had never even met the guy before, and stuck to directing exactly what guitar and bass parts he wanted. Meanwhile, Spatola claims DeRulo called him up to build a fresh version together, and his lawyer points out you can't sing a full guitar chord with. Just one voice. Spatola got paid $2,000 for those six hours, but never signed off on his rights, and he's chasing a co-writer share of the massive royalties.

1:00The lawyer's clashed hard in openings. DeRulo's side says he poured in about 60 hours total, with Josh A. taking half the publishing pie already, while Spatola laid key instrumental foundations to elevate the original beat. DeRulo's back on the stand Friday, facing cross-examination early next week, even with the Met Gala pulling him to New York on Monday, this battle over. Who really shaped Savage Love is far from over. That's your update from Music News Today, powered by AI. I'm Cory with the story.