Cher and Mary Bono clash again over royalties for ‘I Got You Babe’ and more

nme.com:

Cher and Mary Bono are once again locked in a dispute over the royalties to hit songs including ‘I Got You Babe’ and ‘The Beat Goes On’.The dispute first arose several years ago when Sonny Bono’s copyright grants became eligible for termination in 2018.

Upon hearing the news, his widow, Mary, intervened and sought to invoke the right.She was then sued by Cher – who was married to Sonny between 1967 and 1974, recorded together, hosted a show together and had a child together – in 2021 for $1million (£792,000).

At the time, Cher said she was left blindsided by Mary’s attempt to claim her half of Sonny’s composition royalties.Last May, a judge ruled that Cher’s 1978 divorce agreement with Sonny was strong enough to overrule Mary’s attempt to claim his publishing profits.Now, in a new court hearing yesterday (November 18), Mary’s lawyer threw the topic into discussion again, and argued that Cher’s right to collect half of composition royalties for the two aforementioned songs ended on July 1 2022.This comes as that was the date that Irving Azoff‘s Iconic Artists Group acquired Cher’s back catalogue of music in a deal.

The sale also included her 50 per cent stake in Sonny’s compositions, which was outlined in the divorce agreement (as per Rolling Stone).At the court hearing, Mary’s lawyer suggested that the singer should be locked out of access to royalties made after June 30 2022. “She’s not entitled to a third party’s royalties.