Legal battle comes to an end for famous DJ
By: Alexandra Lee Page
After almost five (5) years of ongoing legal battles, Martin Garrix’s widely publicized legal issues with his former record label, Spinnin’ Records seems to have come to an end.
Born in the Netherlands and playing the guitar at the young age of 8, Martijn Garritsen, known as Martin Garrix, is a world-renowned Dutch record producer and DJ. His early career began in 2012 when he was discovered by trance superstar Tiësto[1] and was signed by a Dutch record label, Spinnin’ Records.[2] But it wasn’t until 2013 when Martin Garrix’s career took off with the release of his multiplatinum hit “Animals,” which climbed the charts in several countries across Europe and made Garrix the youngest person at the age of 17 to reach number one on the overall Beatport chart.[3] That same year, Garrix signed a deal with American entertainment company Scooter Braun Projects, which created a split-worldwide management with MusicAllStars Management, the sister company of Spinnin’ Records (since Garrix was already signed to Spinnin’ Records).[4]
Garrix’s legal woes began at the end of 2015 when he announced that he was leaving and filed suit against his label Spinnin’ Records and ex-manager Eelko van Kooten over the ownership rights of his music.[5] In particular, Martin alleged that he had been coerced and deliberately provided “false and misleading information” at the time he signed the contract deal with Spinnin’ Records, which effectively signed away his rights to his own music.[6] As anticipated by the DJ’s team, including his lawyer, Oktay Düzgün, both businesses launched a counter-suit against Marrix, alleging the DJ had “abandoned” his contractual obligations which cost them more than €6.4 million in revenue.[7]
The two companies further claimed in a press release that Garrix had simply breached his contract because the deals were not only vetted thoroughly when the contracts were initially signed but also that his father had also signed each and every agreement (since Garrix was a minor at age 17 at the time).[8] After a document circulated by Spinnin’ Records after filing, Garrix issued a press statement responding to the label’s counter-claims, calling them “one-sided” and “incorrect.”[9] But a month later, Garrix reportedly settled with Spinnin' Records, releasing a statement confirming that he had withdrawn the summary proceedings after his former record label transferred the ownership rights of his music to him, granted that exclusive license of all his tracks released before August 2015 will be retained by Spinnin' Records for an undisclosed period.[10] However, Garrix also stated that their other outstanding disagreements will likely be the subject of further legal proceedings.
Meanwhile, over the next year and a half, Martin released several new tracks, collaborating with many DJ’s and famous vocalists with the likes of Usher and Ed Sheeran. He was also ranked #1 on DJ Mag’s Top 100 DJs for 3 years in a row (2016 – 2018). Garrix founded his own music label Stmpd Rcrds in 2016,[11] months after leaving Spinnin’ Records and before signing with Sony Music in July 2016.[12]
On September 2017, several judges in the Lelystad court ruled in favor of Martin Garrix to have his contract permanently terminated, which allowed Martin to retain the rights to his music that were previously signed to Spinnin’ Records and MusicAllStars, including his biggest hit “Animals.”[13] The judges at the time determined there was in fact a conflict of interest in the negotiation as Eelko van Kooten was not only Garritsen's active manager but also the director of Spinnin' Records.[14] The decision further confirmed that Van Kooten could have avoided a conflict of interest by introducing a 3rd party arbiter.
But two (2) years later on Christmas Eve 2019, Spinnin’ Records won the appeal from the court ruling of the Higher Court of Leeuwarden, suggesting that Garrix did not have the right to break his agreement prematurely with Spinnin’ and MusicAllStars Management after all.[15] The judge ruled that Martin owns the rights to his masters from his Spinnin’ Records catalog, but that his original contracts with Spinnin’ and MusicAllStars Management signed back in 2012 were valid.[16]
Despite the Higher Court’s ruling on appeal – Martin and his team are still claiming it as a victory in their book. Martin stated his original intent in filing suit back in 2015 was mainly because he wanted to reclaim ownership of his intellectual property, which he successfully did in 2017,[17] and that this new appeal ruling does not change the ownership status of his music. According to Martin’s current management, his old team MusicAllStars Management "will be compensated for some outstanding items for their work from January 2015 to July 30, 2015 (which is not special)" and that "MAS and Spinnin’ did thus not gain anything with these cases except that they have incurred enormous costs for themselves and Martijn."[18]
Martin Garrix will likely have to pay for damages based on lost revenue, which has yet to be determined.[19]
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[1] Molly Lambert, Martin Garrix is the Happiest Superstar DJ in EDM, MTV (Dec. 7, 2016), http://www.mtv.com/news/2961090/martin-garrix-is-the-happiest-superstar-dj-in-edm/.
[2] Id.; see also What We Started (Netflix 2017) (a documentary exploring the lives of electronic dance music arts, including Carl Cox and Martin Garrix).
[3] Jacob Marmor, Martin Garrix Makes History with “Animals”, YourEDM (Jun. 24, 2013), https://www.youredm.com/2013/06/24/martin-garrix-makes-history-with-animals/.
[4] Zel McCarthy, Martin Garrix Signs to Scooter Braun Projects, Earns a UK No. 1: Exclusive, Billboard (Nov. 18, 2013), https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/code/5793232/martin-garrix-signs-to-scooter-braun-projects-earns-a-uk-no-1.
[5] Martin Garrix (@martin.garrix), Facebook (Aug. 26, 2015, 1:20 PM), https://www.facebook.com/martin.garrix/posts/946256602083861:0.
[6] Martin Garrix is Suing His Ex Manager, DJMag (Nov. 11, 2015), https://djmag.com/news/martin-garrix-suing-his-ex-manager.
[7] Brittany Provost, Martin Garrix is Victorious with his Spinnin’ Records Music Rights & Lawsuit, EDM Tunes (Sept. 20, 2017), https://www.edmtunes.com/2017/09/martin-garrix-victorious-spinnin-records-music-rights-lawsuit/.
[8] Eric Zwilling, Spinnin’ Records releases statement regarding Martin Garrix lawsuit, Dancing Astronaut (Dec. 30, 2015), https://dancingastronaut.com/2015/12/spinnin-records-releases-statement-regarding-martin-garrix-lawsuit/.
[9] Martin Garrix Hits Back at Spinnin’ Records Following “Incorrect” Press Statement, DJ Mag (Jan. 5, 2016), https://djmag.com/news/martin-garrix-hits-back-spinnin-records-following-incorrect-press-statement.
[10] Matt Medved, Martin Garrix & Spinnin' Records Settle Lawsuit Over Music Ownership Rights, Billboard (Dec. 2, 2015), https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/dance/6784856/martin-garrix-spinnin-records-settle-lawsuit.
[11] Lucas, BREAKING: Martin Garrix Announces the Creation of His Own Label, Your EDM (Nov. 19, 2015), https://www.youredm.com/2015/11/19/breaking-martin-garrix-announces-the-creation-of-his-own-label/.
[12] Kat Bein, Martin Garrix Signs Worldwide Contract With Sony Music International, Billboard (Jul. 26, 2016), https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/dance/7446842/martin-garrix-signs-worldwide-contract-with-sony-music-international.
[13] Martin Garrix Wins Lawsuit Against Spinnin’ Records, DJ Mag (Sept. 20, 2017, 4:42 PM), https://djmag.com/news/martin-garrix-wins-lawsuit-against-spinnin%E2%80%99-records.
[14] Cameron Sunkel, Spinnin’ Records Wins Appeal Against Martin Garrix’s Lawsuit, EDM.com (Dec. 24, 2019), https://edm.com/news/spinnin-records-appeal-martin-garrix-lawsuit.
[15] Id.
[16] Kat Bein, Martin Garrix 'Pleased With Outcome' of Appeals Court Ruling in Spinnin' Records Lawsuit, Billboard (Dec. 27, 2019), https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/dance/8547093/martin-garrix-masters-rights-spinnin-records-lawsuit.
[17] Tatiana Cirisano, Martin Garrix Gets Major Victory In Lawsuit Against Spinnin' Records, Billboard (Sept. 20, 2017), https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/dance/7972835/martin-garrix-lawsuit-win-spinnin-records.
[18] Cameron Sunkel, Martin Garrix’s Management Responds To Ruling On Spinnin’ Records Court Appeal, EDM.com (Dec. 31, 2019), https://edm.com/news/martin-garrix-responds-spinnin-records-appeal.
[19] Axel Roldos, Spinnin’ Records Wins Martin Garrix Lawsuit on Appeal, EDM Tunes (Dec. 24, 2019), https://www.edmtunes.com/2019/12/spinnin-records-wins-martin-garrix-lawsuit-on-appeal/.