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Tyla is no longer facing litigation over the royalty splits from her 2023 breakout smash “Water.”
The South African star (full name Tyla Seethal) had been named in a lawsuit this summer alleging two men named Olmo Zucca and Jackson LoMastro were unfairly deprived of master points for the hit track, but an attorney for Zucca and LoMastro filed a court notice voluntarily dropping the claims against Tyla on Thursday (Feb. 5).
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It was not specified in the filing whether or not Tyla has reached a settlement to exit the case, and reps for both sides did not immediately return inquiries on Friday (Feb. 6). Sony Music Entertainment was similarly dropped from the lawsuit back in November, leaving “Water” producer Sammy SoSo as the sole remaining defendant.
“Water” spent a whopping 55 weeks at No. 1 atop the Billboard U.S. Afrobeats Songs chart and peaked at No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 in January 2024. A month later, the track earned Tyla the inaugural Grammy for Best African Music Performance.
Zucca and LoMastro are credited as composers on “Water,” alongside SoSo (Samuel Awuku) and numerous fellow writers. But the duo alleged in their July lawsuit that they also had a hand in producing the hit song and are thus entitled to master points, which would grant them recorded royalties in addition to the publishing royalties they’re already getting.
The civil complaint leveled contract and fraud claims against Tyla, SoSo and Sony, the parent company of Tyla’s label, Epic Records. Zucca and LoMastro claimed that they’d been deprived of at least $1 million worth of royalties that would have flowed from top-line producer credits on “Water.”
