{"id":9475,"date":"2026-01-11T06:03:20","date_gmt":"2026-01-11T06:03:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/blog\/los-lobos-brings-lawsuits-against-sony-over-movie-soundtrack-royalties\/"},"modified":"2026-01-11T06:03:20","modified_gmt":"2026-01-11T06:03:20","slug":"los-lobos-brings-lawsuits-against-sony-over-movie-soundtrack-royalties","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/blog\/los-lobos-brings-lawsuits-against-sony-over-movie-soundtrack-royalties\/","title":{"rendered":"Los Lobos Brings Lawsuits Against Sony Over Movie Soundtrack Royalties"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n\tGrammy-winning Chicano rock band Los Lobos alleges in a pair of recent lawsuits that Sony has underpaid royalties on songs it recorded for the 1987 Ritchie Valens biopic La Bamba <\/em>and 1995 Antonio Banderas western Desperado<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe legal complaints target different branches of the Japanese media conglomerate; one names Sony Pictures Entertainment and its subsidiary studio Columbia Pictures, while the other goes after Sony Music Entertainment. Together, the two lawsuits seek at least $1.5 million in contractual damages.<\/p>\n

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\n\tThe Sony Pictures case, brought in Los Angeles court in November, alleges that there\u2019s a \u201cmassive deficiency\u201d in Los Lobos\u2019 royalties from the La Bamba <\/em>soundtrack. The movie, starring Lou Diamond Phillips as Valens and distributed by Columbia Pictures, featured multiple Los Lobos covers, including a cover of Valens\u2019 \u201cLa Bamba,\u201d which spent three weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cPlaintiff\u2019s representatives have recently discovered that no royalties for streaming exploitation of the recordings have ever been paid to Los Lobos for any country outside of the United States and Canada,\u201d reads the lawsuit.<\/p>\n

\n\tLos Lobos alleges that Sony Pictures is to blame for this underpayment because the movie company handles non-U.S. and Canada royalty accounting for the La Bamba <\/em>soundtrack. The band says it sent a notice of breach in October, but to no avail.<\/p>\n

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\n\tThe Sony Music lawsuit, meanwhile, was filed last month but transferred to federal court on Friday (Jan. 9). This case focuses on the 1995 film Desperado, <\/em>for which Los Lobos recorded the song \u201cCanci\u00f3n del Mariachi\u201d alongside Banderas, the movie\u2019s star.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe band alleges it just learned that it has never been paid any streaming royalties for \u201cCanci\u00f3n del Mariachi,\u201d which was put on digital platforms by the Sony Music imprint Milan Records. This issue is \u201ceven more egregious,\u201d says Los Lobos, because the song\u2019s streams skyrocketed after mixed martial artist Ilia \u201cEl Matador\u201d Topuria made it his walkout anthem in recent years.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cDespite the specific knowledge that the popularity of the recording was spiking and reaching new audiences, Sony and Milan still paid nothing to Los Lobos for streaming, and continues to pay nothing, for streaming anywhere in the world or for any time period,\u201d reads the lawsuit.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cCanci\u00f3n del Mariachi\u201d charted for the first time this summer, hitting No. 11 on the Billboard Latin Digital Song Sales chart. \u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tA spokesperson for Sony Music declined to comment on the matter on Friday. Reps for Sony Pictures did not immediately return a request for comment.<\/p>\n


\"Billboard
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