UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA _________________________________________ ) STEVEN LEONEL ARIAS, ) ) Plaintiff, ) ) v. ) ) Case No. 21-cv-02551 (APM) UNIVERSAL MUSIC GROUP, et al., ) ) Defendants. ) _________________________________________ ) MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER I. Plaintiff Steven Leonel Arias, also known as “2dirtyy,” is a music producer and composer. Since 2017, Plaintiff has created musical works both individually and in collaboration with other musical artists, including Malik Lynch, also known as “Mak Sauce.” Lynch is signed to Def Jam Recordings, which is owned by Defendant Universal Music Group, Inc. (“UMG”). Plaintiff does not allege that he is signed to any recording group. This case arises from an effort at musical collaboration between Plaintiff and Lynch. On May 20, 2019, Plaintiff created a “musical beat” entitled Suger, which Lynch requested to use in his own composition. Plaintiff “acquiesced” to Lynch’s request, and the resulting composition, Good Morning, was released on June 23, 2019. Later that year, in December 2019, Plaintiff received a contract from Def Jam Recordings for his signature. The contract designated Plaintiff as “the publisher, track engineer, and the mix engineer for the ‘Good Morning’ song project.” The contract also provided that Plaintiff would receive $250 from Def Jam Recordings in return for his contribution to Good Morning. Plaintiff signed the documents the day he received them, at age 17. A second work incorporating Suger entitled Good Morning Remix was released on May 8, 2020, and featured on Lynch’s album. That day, Plaintiff contacted the UMG Licensing and Copyright Department to “inquire[] about the publishing rights and song splits associated with the ‘Good Morning’ and ‘Good Morning Remix’ records” and requested both “an accurate accounting for royalties payments” and “a full audit.” UMG failed to provide “a cogent answer to [Plaintiff’s] accounting inquiry for months” and, eventually, Plaintiff “wished to disaffirm his contract with [UMG].” Plaintiff applied to register the copyright for Suger, and the United States Copyright and Trademark Office “received” his application on June 18, 2021. Plaintiff subsequently filed this suit. Plaintiff asserts claims of direct, contributory, and vicarious copyright infringement under the Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. §§ 106, 501. Am. Compl., ECF No. 16, ¶¶ 45–46. Plaintiff brings all infringement claims against five music industry Defendants: (1) UMG; (2) Universal Music Group Publishing (“UMG Publishing”), which is part of UMG; (3) Vydia, Inc. (“Vydia”); (4) Sony Music Publishing; and (5) Roman Alexander Publishing, Inc. (“Roman Alexander”). 1 Id. ¶¶ 3–7. Before the court are two motions to dismiss, the first filed jointly by Defendants UMG, UMG Publishing, and Sony Music Publishing, and the second filed by Defendant Vydia. Defs.’ Mot. to Dismiss, ECF No. 26 [hereinafter UMG & Sony Mot.]; Def.’s Mot. to Dismiss, ECF No. 28 [hereinafter Vydia Mot.]. As discussed below, Plaintiff has failed to establish personal jurisdiction with respect to Defendant Vydia, and Defendants UMG Publishing and Sony Music Publishing are not separate legal entities subject to suit. Furthermore, Plaintiff has not stated plausible claims for …
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