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Jason Derulo Cross-Examined Over ‘Savage Love’ Credits in Los Angeles Copyright Trial
Jason Derulo was cross-examined May 5 in a Los Angeles federal trial over songwriting and production credits for 2020 hit "Savage Love." Session musician Matthew Spatola seeks writing and producing splits; closing arguments are set for May 6.
Jason Derulo was cross-examined Tuesday, May 5, in a Los Angeles federal court over songwriting and production credits for the 2020 hit “Savage Love.”
The dispute centers on session musician Matthew Spatola, who is credited on the record but is suing for additional writing and producing splits. “Savage Love” first circulated on TikTok in August 2020 and reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 after a remix featuring BTS.
Derulo previously testified during direct examination that Spatola “played a beautiful guitar and bass,” but that the plaintiff “created absolutely nothing” for the song. On Tuesday, Spatola’s attorney, Christopher Frost, questioned those assertions during cross-examination.
“Do you think that if you contribute creatively to a song, you should get writing credit?” Frost asked. “I love giving people their just due,” Derulo replied. “The last thing that I’ve ever wanted to do was take something from someone. If Mr. Spatola created the [melody], I would absolutely have given him credit.”
The questioning turned to the song’s origins and to a 2019 instrumental credited to producer Jawsh 685, “Laxed – Siren Beat,” which Derulo and others used as the source material. Frost pressed whether Spatola’s recorded guitar part constituted original creation or a performance of an existing melody.
Frost asked, “Mr. Spatola delivered organic guitar, yes or no?” Derulo responded that “the melody all existed in ‘Laxed — Siren Beat.'” Frost then noted that the original used a synth guitar, while Spatola played an organic instrument. Derulo maintained that the melody existed in the original and that Spatola “re-played it on an organic guitar.”
A separate line of questioning addressed paperwork. Frost pointed out that Spatola never signed a work-for-hire agreement, which would typically assign copyright interests to the hiring party. Derulo said he did not personally handle such agreements and that his business team normally managed them.
Derulo told the court the recording took place in April 2020, during strict COVID-19 restrictions, and that “the people that would typically be in place to give him an agreement just weren’t there.” He also acknowledged sending Spatola a text after the sessions that read, “1K good each day?”
The trial is scheduled to conclude Wednesday, May 6, with closing arguments from both sides. The jury will then begin deliberations to determine whether Spatola is entitled to additional songwriting or producing credits and corresponding royalties.
