CINEMA NEWS – Dispute between Marty O’Donnell and Mike Salvatori and Microsoft threatens release of Halo series.
The controversy between Microsoft and composers of sagas like Halo and Destiny seems far from over. At the end of last year, we were in a surprising situation when Marty O’Donnell, one of the most acclaimed composers in the industry was forced to post a videowhich asked users to destroy all music they distributed to them without permission.
This time, Marty O’Donnell, along with Halo: Combat Evolved composer Mike Salvatori, is claiming royalties allegedly unpaid for more than two decades. THE Gamesindustry quoted by long Eurogamer Article 2 refers to a lawsuit filed in June 2020 in which composers accused the company of not giving them adequate recognition and compensation for their work on the first Master Chief video game.
The composers are demanding royalties for some of the iconic soundtracks in the video games that were licensed to Bungie before Microsoft acquired the studio in 2000. Although Microsoft paid for the work, O’Donnell and Salvatori said the company was not transparent about sales in order for royalties to be accurate.
The allegations in the lawsuit against Microsoft include breach of contract, breach of the duty of trust in the development of the joint venture’s royalties, breach of duty to act in good faith and due process, and unlawful enrichment. If the composers fail to reach an agreement with Microsoft during the scheduled broadcast next week, the case could go to court.
This situation would further complicate the matter and could result in an indirect sacrifice, as the composers ’legal team was instructed to try to prevent the release of the Halo series for Paramount + in advance with a ban order. The new adventures of Master Chief, played by Pablo Schreiber, will premiere on March 24th. Among the many differences between the composers and Microsoft is the lack of authentication for new versions of the original songs we heard in Halo Infinite.
Source: Gamesindustry, Eurogamer,
–
