Sonny Bono’s Widow Must Pay Cher Royalties

By Kristyn Webb

After three years of litigation, a court has held that the “beat that goes on” for Cher’s right to continue receiving royalties on songs created during her marriage to Sonny Bono, despite attempts by Sonny’s widow, Mary Bono, to invoke federal copyright termination rights to end those payments. 

Cher brought the lawsuit against Mary in 2021 after Mary stopped paying Cher royalties for songs that Sonny and Cher had recorded during the late 1960’s to mid 1970’s as a married performing duo. Sonny and Cher divorced in 1975 and had a divorce agreement drawn up in 1978, which split the royalties from certain songs. Sonny remarried in 1986, and served in Congress from 1995 until he passed away in 1998 in a skiing accident. During his Congressional tenure, he was instrumental in drafting and championing legislation that reformed US copyright law. 

One such reform expanded the rights to terminate copyright transfers and licenses of pre-1978 works. This provision was enacted to give artists or their heirs a second chance to control their creative works after previously assigning their copyrights. By reclaiming rights after a set period, creators can benefit from the long-term success of their work. This meant that Sonny (or his estate) could terminate license deals that Sonny had made earlier in his career, and claw back his rights (or renegotiate as the case may be) with music publishers and (perhaps) get a higher royalty rate.

In this case, the window for termination occurred after Sonny’s death, and the rights to terminate passed to his estate which terminated several agreements with music publishers in 2016. How does this impact the unpaid royalties Cher claimed she was owed under the divorce agreement?

Mary argued that the recaptured rights were not subject to Sonny and Cher’s divorce agreement. Cher argued that she was entitled to royalties under the divorce agreement no matter who owned the copyrights—Sonny, the estate, or the music publishers.

The court ruled that termination under the Copyright Act may change ownership of the underlying rights, but it does not alter other separate contractual obligations such as the divorce agreement. Bang Bang, the court shot Mary down. Cher will receive over $400,000 in back royalties and ongoing payments. 

Kristyn Webb is the Group Leader of Fishman Stewart’s Copyright Practice Group, and holds a Master’s Degree in Copyright Law from King’s College London.