Robbie Williams is facing a legal challenge for a third of the future royalties of his hit song Angels.
Ray Heffernan plans to use “the bestseller clause”, a new piece of EU copyright law allowing for retrospective compensation for songwriters, after claiming he was paid just £7,500 for the ballad.
The 1997 single, which spent 12 weeks in the top 10, had sold more than 1.16 million copies in the UK by 2014. It also racked up more than 670 million streams on Spotify.
“Recording with Robbie was just my second time in a studio. So when the conversation turned to selling the song, I was mostly thrilled. That’s what you’re supposed to do, right? Sell your songs to pop stars,” Mr Heffernan told Ireland’s Sunday Independent.
“They initially offered £2,500 to relinquish the rights. When I asked to be credited on the record, they raised it to £7,500. With the promise my name would be attached, I accepted the deal. Then – boom – the song took off.”
The bestseller clause is part of the EU Copyright Directive. It allows artists to demand additional remuneration if the original payment for their work is deemed disproportionately low compared to the profits made from it by a court.
Mr Heffernan plans to bring the case in the UK and Germany, as it is an EU member.
The Irish singer-songwriter, whom Williams previously dismissed as a “fantasist”, said he believed a 33 per cent share in future royalties of Angels would be fair compensation.
Mr Heffernan, then 22, met Williams, who had just left Take That, on a Christmas night out in his hometown of Dublin in 1996.
They recorded a first version of Angels at a local studio after he played Williams the song at his mother’s house.
Ray Heffernan recorded a demo of the song with Williams – Facebook
Williams has confirmed he recorded a demo with Mr Heffernan, who wrote the Ivor Novello award-winning song after his partner suffered a miscarriage.
But the pop star insisted he significantly rewrote it with collaborator Guy Chambers. The pair added the famous “And through it all, she offers me protection” chorus.
Williams, 51, said he bought the song rights to prevent a lawsuit before the song was released. He has never confirmed co-authorship.
The British public voted Angels the best British song of the past 25 years at the 2005 Brit Awards. It was chosen as the song most Britons would like played at their funeral the same year.
Williams has been contacted for comment.
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