The Dance is Over: Sony Settles Lawsuit Over Whitney Houston Biopic
Sony has settled its lawsuit against the producers of the 2022 biopic Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody. In a motion filed November 18, 2024, attorneys for Sony moved to dismiss the lawsuit “with prejudice,” meaning it cannot be filed again at a later date. Sony advised the Court that the parties had reached settlement terms but requested an extension of time to finalize the deal.
Sony brought the lawsuit in 2023 against four production companies— Anthem Films, NYBO Productions, and Black Label Media—claiming the defendants failed to pay licensing fees for 24 recordings used in the film, including I Will Always Love You, So Emotional, I'm Every Woman, How Will I Know, and I'm Your Baby Tonight. The film was released in 2022 and grossed some $60 million worldwide, according to Sony's complaint. The complaint maintained the production companies failed to pay licensing fees for Houston's recordings, despite having entered into a license agreement days before the release of the film. Early on, defendant Anthem agreed to pay the licensing fees once it received tax credits owed by the State of Massachusetts. However, defendant Black Label Media—who controlled all expenditures—refused to authorize the payment to Sony.
It remains unclear what amount the filmmakers agreed to pay, but the complaint sought the statutory maximum of $150,000 in damages per infringement, totaling $3.6 million. The terms of the settlement have not yet been released.
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