The legal dispute between Ramon Ayala and former Los Bravos del Norte lead vocalist Mario Marichalar over digital royalties continues after both filed lawsuits over the past few months. Marichalar spoke about the disagreement in an exclusive interview with The AC Cruz podcast.
Ayala sued his longtime singer and guitarist in August over music royalties worth millions of dollars after a claim by Marichalar to SoundExchange, a non-profit organization that collects and distributes digital performance royalties for sound recordings, stopped royalty payments to Ayala.
Ayala, “El Rey del Acordeón,” says he is the sole owner of those royalties but Marichalar says differently according to the exclusive interview.
“There’s other musicians involved here,” said Marichalar. “I think he sat on his throne and said, ‘I’m going to claim this and I’m going to pay them. I’m going to take care of them,’ and that’s what he did not do. He got whatever amount it was and he just said, ‘You know what, these guys, they don’t deserve anything, they’re not entitled to anything. The money’s mine I’m just gonna keep it’…I was like, this is not right, we’re entitled to something.”
Ayala has recorded 105 albums, won four Grammy Awards, and taken part in 13 films during his career, according to court documents.
Marichalar says he contributed to 21 albums and approximately 270 individual sound recordings since joining the group. He is asking for 25% of those digital royalties which amounts to $1 million, according to Marichalar.
Listen to the full interview with Mario Marichalar on the latest episode of The AC Cruz Podcast below. Hear previous episodes and get more details at CruzControlWithACCruz.com.
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