Halo’s OG Composers Sue Microsoft For 20 Years of Royalties

The original composers for the Halo trilogy are suing publisher Microsoft for 20 years of royalties. The military science fiction media franchise has remained popular, as evidenced by the fact that Halo Infinite had the biggest opening for a game in the franchise and a TV series is currently in development.

Marty O’Donnell was one part of a duo that composed the soundtrack for the original Halo video game trilogy. In addition to composing the soundtrack, O’Donnell also acted as the audio director and a member of the Board of Directors at Halo developer Bungie. Despite O’Donnell’s executive roles at Bungie, the developer fired the composer in 2014 following a disagreement in the use of his music. O’Donnell waged a court battle against his former employer for unpaid wages, ultimately winning the case in 2015. However, in June of last year, Halo composer Marty O’Donnell divulged that he was being forced to shut down his YouTube channel due to wider legal issues. It was later revealed that O’Donnell had violated a court order against sharing or performing his music composed for Destiny, another Bungie game. The composer was forced to pay a penalty to the developer and issue a court-approved statement that asked for those in possession of his Destiny music to destroy their copies. Now, legal troubles persist for O’Donnell.

As reported by Polygon, Marty O’Donnell and Mike Salvatori, the duo that composed the soundtrack of the original Halo trilogy, are suing Microsoft over what they claim are unpaid royalties. O’Donnell explains in an interview with Eurogamer that the two composers’ joint studio, O’Donnell Salvatori Inc., will mediate with Microsoft. O’Donnell also said that if the two parties cannot reach an agreement, there is a possibility that O’Donnell Salvatori Inc. will demand an injunction against the new Halo TV series. O’Donnell Salvatori Inc. claims that the duo wrote and recorded the soundtrack outside of Bungie and then licensed their work to the developer. Microsoft maintains that the soundtrack is wholly owned by the company as O’Donnell was an in-house composer for Bungie. However, Salvatori remained an independent contractor throughout the entire process. Furthermore, O’Donnell claims that once Microsoft purchased Bungie, Microsoft put off clarifying the licensing agreement, resulting in the issue never being resolved.

Though there are just two parties involved in this dispute, the legal battle over this licensing agreement is complicated by the events of the last 20 years. Microsoft acquired Bungie and its popular first-person shooter franchise in 2000. Seven years later, Bungie split from its parent company but still partnered with Microsoft on publishing and marketing Halo. Microsoft also retained a minority stake in developer Bungie and kept ownership of all Halo intellectual property. Will the original licensing agreement between O’Donnell Salvatori Inc. and Bungie be honored, or will it be trumped over by the changing hands of the Halo franchise to Microsoft? With both parties in the legal case making reasonable claims, Halo fans will be interested to hear the verdict.

The soundtrack for the original Halo video game trilogy is iconic, and is part of a franchise that revolutionized the video game industry as it’s known today. As time will soon tell, the legal battle surrounding the soundtrack may prove just as iconic. Fans will have to wait and see how this troubled piece of the history of the iconic Halo franchise will be resolved.

Sources: Eurogamer (via Polygon)

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