Sony Music has reached a settlement to resolve a lawsuit over unpaid song rights tied to Whitney Houston’s 2022 biopic, Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance With Somebody.
The legal action, filed earlier this year, accused the movie’s producers of failing to pay for the use of some of Whitney Houston’s most iconic songs, despite signing deals to include tracks like I Will Always Love You in the film.
The lawsuit claimed that no payments had been made for these rights even after the movie’s release in December 2022. Sony’s motion to voluntarily drop the case was filed Monday in New York federal court. However, the motion did not disclose any details of the settlement agreement, and neither Sony nor the film’s producers have commented on the matter.
I Wanna Dance With Somebody emerged amid a growing trend of successful musical biopics, like Bohemian Rhapsody and Elvis.
Despite this, the film struggled at the box office, grossing just $59.8 million, far below expectations. The copyright dispute compounded this underperformance.
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In February, Sony filed a lawsuit claiming that Anthem Films, Black Label Media, and other companies behind the film had signed a sync license agreement on December 5, 2022, just days before the film’s release.
This agreement was intended to cover the use of several of Houston’s songs, including “I’m Every Woman” and the title track “I Wanna Dance With Somebody.”
However, by August 2023, Sony reported receiving no payment under the deal. When Anthem was notified, the producers cited delays in receiving funds from a tax credit owed by Massachusetts.
Yet, despite this explanation, no payment was made, and Sony argued that the songs were being used without proper authorization.
