Grammy winner Tyla sued by producers over royalties from hit single ‘Water’

Producers Olmo Zucca and Jackson LoMastro are suing Grammy-winning artist Tyla and her label over a dispute concerning royalties from her hit song “Water.” The lawsuit, filed in California, alleges improper compensation and credit allocation for the 2024 Grammy Award-winning single.

According to court documents, Zucca and LoMastro claim they were unfairly excluded from a fair share of the song’s financial success. The producers assert that they played significant creative roles during the March 2023 development session in Los Angeles, where they collaborated with Rayan El-Hussein Goufar (known professionally as Rayo) and Awuku.

In the lawsuit, the plaintiffs contend that the typical industry practice of equally dividing publishing royalties among co-writers was violated. They allege that Awuku, who distributed the royalties, assigned himself an elevated 15% share while giving Zucca, LoMastro, and Goufar just 10% each, and Christopher “Tricky” Stewart a mere 5%.

The legal filing stresses that Zucca and LoMastro were not hired session musicians, but rather creative partners who were entitled to full production credits. They further claim that Awuku improperly claimed sole producer recognition while secretly negotiating separate financial agreements with Tyla, which excluded them from the song’s earnings.

Efforts to resolve the matter privately reportedly failed in July 2023, when Awuku allegedly refused to engage in meaningful discussions. With “Water” surpassing one billion streams on Spotify alone and receiving numerous accolades, the producers now seek court intervention to address what they describe as both professional and financial harm.

Their lawsuit demands official recognition as principal producers, 12.5% shares of the publishing royalties, appropriate master recording royalties, digital performance payments from SoundExchange, and compensation for reputational damage and lost revenue opportunities.