Chris Brown's been in the news a lot lately, and it hasn't been for good reason, between issues surrounding custody and the continued legal battle with his ex-housekeeper. Now, one of his hit singles is at the center of a new lawsuit but he has nothing to actually do it with it.
Sony is facing a new lawsuit over Chris Brown’s hit song, “Party,” because the song’s producer claims that they only paid him half the rate he was owed.
On October 16th, ISM, real name Ishmael Sadiq Montague, filed the lawsuit against Sony in New York federal court. He claims that he struck a deal with Chris Brown Entertainment that would give him 1.5% royalty on the song, which also features Gucci Mane and Usher. He said that the agreed percentage is after his split with A1, but Sony hasn’t honored the agreement. Instead, he claims that Sony paid him out at a rate of .75%.
Unfortunately, the discrepancy barely scratches the surface of Sony’s alleged misconduct. He said his records were reviewed in July, then he brought the issue to Sony in August, which noted that he only received half the pay he was supposed to receive. Moreover, he said he struck a deal with Xposure Music Holdings in June to sell his royalty interests, and that deal required Sony to send those payments to Xposure after September 1st. Still, he alleged Sony didn’t honor the change in payees for six weeks.
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Chris Brown's "Party" Lawsuit
The allegations also focus on certain parts of the terms of their agreement, including that Sony requested that he sign a form claiming that the payee didn’t have a right to audit Sony, describing it as fixed rules, though ISM alleges that Sony already had a form that didn’t include that particular term.
ISM also alleges that Sony initially told him that there was no account of his share, only to confirm that they were accounting for “Party.” He also pointed to statements from Sony over the years that indicated that there was a paper trail the whole time.
“On August 29, 2026, plaintiff executed the form Sony produced. The executed instrument contains no release, no waiver, and no acknowledgment of any account,” the complaint stated.
ISM is seeking $1,247,500 and punitive damages, along with any unpaid funds that haven’t been accounted for yet.
