Nomcebo suing Master KG’s music label

The amazing news of their single Bayethe receiving a Grammy Nomination barely sunk in, when Nomcebo Zikode, Zakes Bantwini and Wouter Kellerman learnt that their song was taken down from Spotify.

According to a statement send to The Citizen, the Grammy nominated song being removed from Spotify is ‘the latest development in Open Mic Production’s ongoing campaign to control Nomcebo Zikode.’

ALSO SEE: Kelly Rowland explains her love for SA and longevity in Hollywood

The statement also alleges that Open Mic has not paid Nomcebo any royalties for her contributions to the global hit single, Jerusalema. The upbeat gospel-influenced house song is the top streaming African song of all-time and took South Africa by storm when it was released in 2020.

“For some reason, Open Mic has decided to exclude Nomcebo from partaking in her rightful earnings from the song’s success. And now Nomcebo is fighting back,” the statement read.

Open Mic claims intellectual property right

According to court documents, which The Citizen has seen, Open Mic’s attorneys wrote to Spotify notifying them the recording infringes on its intellectual property. Nomcebo has denied this, stating that Open Mic holds no copyright or other intellectual property rights in the song.

The court documents state that the unlawful takedown of Bayethe from Spotify, ‘is an injurious falsehood, an unlawful and intentional interference with my and the second applicant’s contractual and/or property rights and unlawful competition”.

ALSO SEE: WATCH: ‘Jerusalema’ hitmaker Nomcebo Zikode splurges on brand new R2.1m ride

The vocalist added that “she has a reasonable apprehension that the take-down request, along with other take-down requests of which I am unaware, or which the respondent may still issue, may have a bearing on the Grammy for which I have been nominated”.  

She also said that as a result of the recording being removed from Spotify, and potentially from other platforms of which she is unaware, the second applicant and herself have suffered and stand to suffer further harm, the extent of which will be difficult, if not impossible, to quantify.

*Compiled by Xanet Scheepers