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Judge throws out copyright lawsuit over Flo Milli’s ‘Never Lose Me,’ ruling producer never signed plaintiff’s $200 exclusive beat license
A federal judge in California dismissed Shamar Deal’s copyright lawsuit over Flo Milli’s “Never Lose Me”, ruling that Deal had not shown he held a valid exclusive licence to the beat at issue. The decision turned on the licence paperwork, not on whether the songs infringed copyright.
Deal said he paid producer Gerreaux $200 in 2019 for a 10-year exclusive licence to the beat “Youu”, later used in Babyface Ray and 42 Dugg’s “Ron Artest” and sampled in “Never Lose Me”. The Traktrain licence was signed by the marketplace’s owner, not Gerreaux or anyone shown to be authorised to sign for him; the judge dismissed the claims with prejudice. Deal had sought at least $1 million, citing more than 96 million Spotify streams for “Ron Artest” and about 650 million across six versions of “Never Lose Me”.
In short
- A judge dismissed Deal’s copyright claims over “Never Lose Me”.
- The $200 exclusive licence lacked the producer’s signature.
- The ruling did not decide whether the songs infringed copyright.
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
The dismissal can be defended as a straightforward application of contract and copyright rules: an exclusive licence needs to come from the rights holder or an authorised representative, and the paperwork did not show that Gerreaux had granted one. Requiring clear proof protects creators from losing control of their work through documents they did not sign or authorise, while giving courts a sound basis to decide who may bring an infringement claim.
The case against
A reasonable concern is that a buyer who paid for what was presented as a 10-year exclusive licence may have little practical protection if a marketplace’s paperwork proves defective, especially when the producer’s role or authority was not clearly documented. Dismissing the claims with prejudice may also seem severe if the dispute reflects unreliable licensing practices rather than a knowingly invalid claim; clearer marketplace safeguards could protect both buyers and creators.
Explained simply
A beat is an instrumental track that a producer makes for a song. Producers may license beats to artists or buyers, setting out how they can be used; an exclusive licence can give one buyer sole rights to use a beat for an agreed period.
Shamar Deal said he bought a 10-year exclusive licence for a beat called “Youu” from producer Gerreaux in 2019. The beat was later used in “Ron Artest” by Babyface Ray and 42 Dugg, and sampled in Flo Milli’s “Never Lose Me”.
Copyright disputes can turn on who owns a work or has permission to use it. In this case, the licence document was signed by the owner of the Traktrain marketplace, rather than Gerreaux or someone shown to be authorised to sign for him, leaving the question of Deal’s rights central to the case.