Grammy-nominated singer Jah Cure has finally addressed claims made by a St Lucian female singer/songwriter that he failed to give her credit for his song, ‘Rotten Souls’.
Tamara John, more popularly known in the industry as Lady Stone, claims she wrote the track Jah Cure’s vocals are featured on but was never credited as the writer when the record was officially released. The song is featured on DJ Frass’ Road To Success album.
In an interview with Ja Irie Radio last week, Jah Cure, who had been silent on the issue since John went public early last month, said it was not his responsibility to credit the young woman as a writer on the song. Jah Cure, who admitted that he has worked with songwriters from time to time throughout his career, did not deny that John wrote the song, but said it was the producer’s responsibility to ensure she was properly credited before the record was released.
“I worked with her and I didn’t put the record out on my album. But I give the record to DJ Frass and I give DJ Frass all the information for the young lady, and DJ Frass didn’t put the young lady information on the program on time,” he said.
He explained that the female communicated with him via Instagram, where he explained to her that it was not his responsibility to list her as writer on the song. He said he gave her the producer’s number and told her to contact him regarding her credits.
When THE STAR spoke to John, she explained that following her social media rant, she was contacted by the singer’s publisher who informed her that Cure never passed on her info.
INFORMATION NOT SENT
“Jah Cure’s publisher is the one that placed him as the songwriter because he never sent her my information. He was responsible for that (passing on her info) because I never dealt with anyone but Jah Cure, which means I never gave anyone information to have the song registered under my name but Jah Cure. She told me she was never sent my information, so she assumed he wrote the song, him an someone else, the person who they’ve currently registered as the songwriter for the song.”
THE STAR spoke to Gussie Clarke, director of Dubplate Music Publishers and a member of Jamaica Association of Composers Authors and Publishers, who explained that it was the producer’s job to list all writers of the song in giving the information to the record label. However, he said that in registering the song with societies such as American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers and Broadcast Music Inc, it would be the artiste’s responsibility to provide the information to his/her publisher. He said that if the latter was not done, the publisher would then assume that the artiste is the writer and would register the song accordingly.
Entertainment lawyer Joan Elizabeth Webley said that she could not go into any legal details regarding this specific case, but she said that all matters such as these can be fixed easily by seeking legal advice.
“It’s a matter of paperwork. It doesn’t appear that Jah Cure is disputing the claim (that she’s the writer), so it’s a matter of faulty registration and can be easily clarified.”
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