The existence of an entire genre of music may hinge on one judge’s decision

Judge André Birotte Jr was faced with a strange case. An obscure Jamaican duo called Steevy & Clevie, was looking to sue about a hundred artists for stealing a simple drum beat from an old B-side entitled “Fish Market” from 1989. This is the “dembow riddim” case.

Drum beats are considered to be a fundamental building block of songwriting. You can’t trademark/copyright a beat. But Judge Birotte took a different approach when handling this case. He’s rule that the dispute can only be settled by a jury.

This is bad. If a jury comes back with a guilty verdict, this will mean most of the reggaeton world–including Bad Bunny–will have committed copyright infringement and plagiarism. Thousands of songs that use the dembow riddim will, in essence, be ruled as examples of musical theft. (I wrote about it here.)

Bad Bunny would like the judge to think about this a little more. Meanwhile, the Steevy & Clevie people are pushing ahead, sensing a massive payday.

Is this a generic drumbeat open to all? Or is it sufficiently original to be considered an “original and protectable work?”

Dig into the story here.