Sony Music Entertainment (SME) and Ultra Records have filed a lawsuit against Moody Recordings over an allegedly infringing version of the house track "Dancin" by Aaron Smith.

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

Key points of the lawsuit:

• Defendants Jonas Tempel and William Renkosik (DJ Bad Boy Bill), owners of Moody Recordings, allegedly created and released an unauthorized version of "Dancin" in 2019
• The unauthorized version has accumulated over 200 million Spotify streams
• Sony Music and Ultra are suing for both vicarious and contributory copyright infringement
• Estimated damages exceed $1 million
• Sony Music Spain seeks to extend the 2014 licensing agreement by at least four years

The lawsuit also alleges that Moody Recordings serves as an "alter ego" for Tempel and Renkosik, claiming the company lacks genuine corporate existence and was formed to shield the owners from personal financial liability.

The plaintiffs argue they have suffered "irreparable harm" due to:

• Lost revenue from Spotify streams
• Declining popularity of the original "Dancin" track
• Breach of the original licensing agreement

At the time of filing, the defendants had not publicly responded to the allegations.

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