This Charlotte woman was featured in Rolling Stone. Where are her royalties?
She’s made a name in for herself in Charlotte and across the country in suicide prevention but now the National Remarkable Woman of the year is making a name for herself in Rolling Stone Magazine.
Fonda Bryant is the biological daughter of R&B, gospel and disco icon Johnnie Taylor. Taylor had hits throughout the 60s and 70s and scored the first ever platinum hit with his song Disco Lady in 1976.
For the last 10 years, Bryant has been asking why neither she — nor any of Taylor’s other nine heirs — had received royalties for Taylor’s hits, specifically from Sony where he recorded Disco Lady.
The Rolling Stone article uncovers Bryant’s tumultuous battle with Sony and the ultimate victory by Bryant — both for her family and for the families of other artists. As a result of the decade-long fight, Sony has agreed to no longer take artists, nor their heirs’, royalties to recoup money from advancements.
“Record labels expect heirs to be greedy, dumb, and willing to take anything they give us. I was not any of those,” Bryant said. “What I was able to accomplish with Sony not only does it help me and the other heirs of Johnnie Taylor, it will also help past and future artists from labels keeping their royalties to pay back advancements. It will help Adele, Lil Nas X and anyone in the music industry. I did good!”
Check out the full story in Rolling Stone.
This story was originally published November 8, 2021 at 6:30 AM.
