Ricardo Montaner is dragging Universal Music Group into court, and the fight is over who really owns his oldest masters. The Argentine-Venezuelan singer, teaming with his company Montaner Legacy Music LLC, fired off parallel suits in the United States and Venezuela, insisting UMG holds no legit claim to five records he cut between 1986 and 1992.
Those albums, Ricardo Montaner, Ricardo Montaner 2, Un Toque de Misterio, En el Último Lugar del Mundo, and Los Hijos del Sol, carry Billboard Hot Latin Songs No. 1 hits like La Cima del Cielo, Castillo Azul, and Piel Adentro.
His argument boils down to a 1993 settlement, a finiquito, which he says wiped the old deal and handed every right back to him. A defunct subsidiary, Universal Music Venezuela, claimed those rights in 2001 anyway, and Montaner alleges nobody ever cut him a royalty check.
He terminated the agreement, licensed the records to Legacy, and that outfit signed with ADA Latin. UMG then pushed back, and the calculable damages already top USD $1 million.
Those albums, Ricardo Montaner, Ricardo Montaner 2, Un Toque de Misterio, En el Último Lugar del Mundo, and Los Hijos del Sol, carry Billboard Hot Latin Songs No. 1 hits like La Cima del Cielo, Castillo Azul, and Piel Adentro.
His argument boils down to a 1993 settlement, a finiquito, which he says wiped the old deal and handed every right back to him. A defunct subsidiary, Universal Music Venezuela, claimed those rights in 2001 anyway, and Montaner alleges nobody ever cut him a royalty check.
He terminated the agreement, licensed the records to Legacy, and that outfit signed with ADA Latin. UMG then pushed back, and the calculable damages already top USD $1 million.
