After a decade of litigation and related bankruptcy, Jacqueline Palank of the Wall Street Journal wrote on the question of who owns the song, “Whoomp! (There It Is)”.
This song is familiar to anyone who attended a sporting event in the ’90s. Released in 1993, “Whoomp! (There It Is)” was one of those ubiquitous pump-up-the-crowd songs played during sporting events, a status cemented by its inclusion on the first volume of “Jock Jams.” It was later declared the 65th worst-song-ever, surrounded by such other ’90s gems as “How Bizarre” by OMC, “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” by Deep Blue Something and “Supermodel (You Better Work)” by RuPaul.
To decide this matter, Judge Richard A. Schell of the U.S. District Court in Sherman, Texas, scheduled a hearing for Aug. 27. This is when a jury will be selected for a trial over which of two music companies is the true owner.
In 1993, Alvertis Isbell’s Bellmark Records released “Whoomp! (There It Is),” by one-hit wonder Tag Team. According to Isbell, the record label owned the sound recording of the song, while its affiliated publishing company, Alvert Music, owned the composition rights to the song’s written form.
However, DM Records licensed “Whoomp! (There It Is)” in 1997. Bellmark filed for bankruptcy protection the same year. In 1999, Bellmark sold most of its assets, including its sound recording rights, to DM Records. According to Isbell, the composition rights weren’t included in that sale because they are an asset of Alvert, which wasn’t in bankruptcy.
According to Isbell, DM has been wrongly claiming ownership of both the song’s sound and composition rights. Isbell is seeking a ruling that Alvert Music still owns the composition rights, and also wants damages for DM’s alleged infringement on his ownership rights.
DM Records, however, says written agreements do not mention him or Alvert Music by name, and therefore don’t distinguish between the two types of song rights. As a result, both were assets of Bellmark and therefore included among the assets DM Records bought from Bellmark’s bankruptcy.
After a decade of litigation, the parties asked Schell to rule on the dispute without a trial. The judge denied the request Friday stating, “Because there are genuine issues of material fact surrounding ownership of the subject composition copyrights, the court denies both DM and Isbell’s motions for summary judgment.”
Many experts believe that we may be headed for another recession. Don’t enter a second recession with mountains of debt. I can help you to understand the options available to you for dealing with your debts. I am sure that I can be of assistance to you, to a family member, or to a friend as we all know people experiencing trouble these days even if we are not experiencing our own financial troubles. Please do not hesitate to make contact with me. I emphasize courteous and discrete consultations that fill your time with useful information. The impact to your life after an in-person consultation with me may be substantial, and life-long. You will enjoy a new peace of mind and a fresh hope for the future with a new roadmap for financial success that we develop together. You can contact my scheduler through our website for your free 30 minute consultation. If you wish, you may schedule your free 30 minute consultation by phone by calling us at 253-383-1001 Monday through Thursday from 9:00 AM until 5:45 PM, and on Friday from 9:00 AM until 12 noon.
