Justin Bieber and musical group Dan + Shay are currently in a legal debacle over alleged copyright infringement for their 2019 hit song “10,000 Hours.”
The pop duo, which comprises Dan Smyers and Shay Mooney, featured Bieber on the track for their 2021 album, “Good Things,” earning them a Grammy for Best Country Duo/Group Performance that year.
Things have taken a negative turn for the stars as three music companies have pressed charges against them for stealing from a song released five years prior.
Justin Bieber And Dan + Shay’s ‘10,000 Hours’ Allegedly Copied 1973 Single
According to court documents retrieved by PEOPLE, Sound Gems, Melomega Music, and International Manufacturing Concepts have sued Bieber and Dan + Shay over copyright infringement.
The companies pressed charges against the trio and others on Thursday, April 21, for ripping off the “core portion” of a 1973 song.
The piece in question is written by Palmer Rakes and Frank Fioravanti, titled “The First Time Baby Is A Holiday.”
The filing revealed that the song came out in 2014, while “10,000 Hours” debuted in 2019 with “unmistakable similarities,” including the hook, chorus, and verse.
Sound Gems, Melomega Music, and International Manufacturing Concepts request credit for the song, seizure of its further distribution, statutory damages, and attorney fees.
Dan + Shay and Justin Bieber released “10,000 Hours” on October 4, 2019, to lead the pop duo’s 2021 album “Good Things.”
Other writers on the track include Jordan Reynolds, Jessie Jo Dillon, and Poo Bear. Under Smyers’ production, the single debuted on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart at number 4.
“10,000 Hours” earned a historical feat on the streaming platform as a non-holiday country song to reach the highest chart, topping “Cruise” by Florida Georgia Line, which hit the number 9 peak.
The Grammy-winning piece is also the first country single to debut in the top ten since 2012. It received a whopping 33.3 million streams in its first full tracking week.
“10,000 Hours” sold 53,000 downloads in week one and 17,000 in the next one, earning it the top spot on the chart for Hot Country Songs for a record-breaking 21 weeks.
The RIAA gave the “Good Things” single a certified Gold award on December 10, 2019, and a Platinum on January 16, 2020. By 2021, the song became quadruple platinum, with 256,000 copies sold in the US since 2020.
Dan + Shay and the “Under The Mistletoe” singer released a piano version of “10,000 Hours” on November 27, 2019. The singers exchanged their verses and called the piece a wedding version.
The “Justice” Singer Sued By Vocal Tech Over Unpaid Fees On Album
Bieber’s debacle with Sound Gems, Melomega Music, and International Manufacturing Concepts is not his first stint with a lawsuit.
Earlier this month, The Blast disclosed that one of Bieber’s vocal technicians and founder of Tekzenmusic Inc., Chris “Tek” O’Ryan sued his manager Scott Braun and JRC Entertainment, LLC for a contract breach.
Tek filed a lawsuit in the County of Los Angeles seeking an undisclosed amount of damages for a breach, promissory estoppel, and international interference with the contract.
Tekzenmusic, Inc., a California corporation, is seeking a jury trial to decide whether or not he should receive payment for his work on the “Justice” album.
The lawsuit revealed that Tek isn’t able to determine much he’s owed because Bieber’s team “aren’t able to provide a royalty on songs on which Justin is featured since they aren’t released by his label.”
The court documents allege that Tek engineered thirteen tracks for Justin’s next album (the “Justice Tracks”), and he was informed the following after the project:
“His entitlement to a point on any recordings was considered to be purely within their discretion, and that he could not necessarily expect to receive a royalty on any of the Justice Tracks.”
Tek reportedly contacted the President of SB Projects, Allison Kaye, for an update on his compensation for tuning Justin Bieber’s vocals on the DJ Khaled song “No Brainer,” which he was also denied.
The court documents reveal that Kaye replied, “we can increase your fee on the feature per your request. But we can’t give a point on the Khaled record. It’s not our song.”
