A legal battle has erupted between Sony Music Entertainment (SME), Ultra Records, and Moody Recordings over alleged copyright infringement of the house track "Dancin" by Aaron Smith.

The dispute centers on a 2014 exclusive licensing agreement that granted Sony Music the rights to "Dancin" for ten years worldwide, except for Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg. Sony subsequently transferred exclusive rights for Canada and the United States to Ultra Records.

Key points of the lawsuit:

• Moody Recordings allegedly created and released an unauthorized version of "Dancin" in 2019
• The unauthorized version has accumulated over 200 million Spotify streams
• Defendants include Moody Recordings and its owners Jonas Tempel and William Renkosik (DJ Bad Boy Bill)
• Plaintiffs claim losses of "hundreds of thousands of dollars" and "irreparable harm"

Legal claims include:

• Vicarious and contributory copyright infringement
• Breach of contract (estimated damages over $1 million)
• Sony seeks to extend the 2014 agreement by at least four years

The lawsuit additionally argues that Moody Recordings serves as an "alter ego" for Tempel and Renkosik, suggesting they should be personally liable for the company's actions. The plaintiffs allege Moody lacks genuine corporate existence and proper documentation.

As of the filing, the defendants have not publicly responded to the allegations. The case number is 1:23-cv-00885.

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