Judge takes in ‘Wine with no worries’

He was hearing the case filed by Full Blown Entertainment Company Ltd against producers Devon Matthews and Anson Soverall and radio station, RED 96.7FM.

Full Blown claims a song produced by the defendants had the same chorus refrain as its 2013 song titled “No Worries”.

The name of the song by Matthews and Soverall and the radio station was not given, only the lyrics of the chorus which also had the words “wine” and “no worries. Justice Seepersad not only took in the music, but also the evidence of United States based music producer Dexter Simmons who testified, via video-conferencing from Los Angeles, that the words of the chorus of both songs were similar.

Simmons, who said he had won a Grammy Award, also told Justice Seepersad that he has a Masters Degree in Sound Design and lectures on the subject at universities abroad. In the first copyright case over lyrics in the local courts, Simmons said he used a Spectogram and amplitude and inflection systems to determine whether Full Blown’s composition of “No Worries” had similar lyrics to a song produced by Mathews and Soverall.

“Wine with no worries” is a lyric that is part of the chorus of the two songs.

Saying he was not paid by Full Blown to testify, but rather to provide the court with expert evidence, Simmons observed the two songs had the same words “no worries” in the chorus.

And while the keys (musical notes) on which the songs were structured were different, the words “no worries” or “worries” were similar in how the lyrics were “conjured and preferred”, referring to the tone of the choruses.

Full Blown director Kevon Hart, who composed “No Worries”, testified he had not yet released his song, when he heard it played on YouTube. He then issued a pre-action protocol letter through his attorneys to Mathews and Soverall as well as RED 96.7 FM.

Testifying on behalf of the defendants was Martin Raymond, an Associate Professor of Carnival Studies. The trial continues today.