Gloria Gaynor, a legendary musician best known for the classic song “I Will Survive” from the 1970s, has sued Joel Diamond, her former producer, alleging that he violated her copyrights and did not give her the due credit.
The complaint was filed in Manhattan Federal Court, with Gaynor requesting $2 million in damages.
Despite never having co-written a song with Diamond, the 80-year-old dance legend alleges that he fraudulently claimed ownership of eight of her compositions under a 1983 recording deal.
According to Gaynor’s court documents, Diamond listed himself as a co-writer on at least one of her songs but neglected to provide her any income or be open about the licensing of her tunes.
In addition, Gaynor and co-plaintiff Robin Randall are attempting to end their agreements with Diamond.
Underlining the larger problem of legacy music artists being used, their lawyer, Vivian R. Drohan, said, “Gloria Gaynor and Robin Randall are prominent examples of the exploitation and abuse suffered by legacy music artists at the hands of industry insiders and record companies.”
Diamond, on the other hand, has refuted the claims, describing them as “demonstrably false” and claiming to be the rightful owner by referencing a formal contract that dates back 40 years.
The conflict has brought attention to the continuous difficulties that artists experience in getting just recompense for their work.
