$1m profit he used to know

IT'S the biggest selling single in Australian history and is about to celebrate one year on the Australian top 50 singles chart.

But a strangely generous royalties deal has left Gotye having to split all profits from his song Somebody That I Used To Know down the middle.

In a deal brokered well before the song topped charts around the world and earned millions of dollars, it's understood Gotye (real name Wally DeBacker) agreed to split royalties 55/45 with the estate of deceased South American musician Luiz Bonfa who, despite having died 10 years ago, received a co-writer credit on the tune.

DeBacker inked the back-end deal after sampling the guitar hook from Bonfa's Seville (released in 1967) which can be heard at the beginning and occasionally throughout the song.

He has also previously credited Bonfa's tune for providing the blueprint for his breakout hit single, saying the riff sparked the first few lines of lyrics.

The decision to all but halve profits, while not a bad one when DeBacker was a struggling artist, has come back to bite the singer given its success far exceeded anyone's expectations after its release in 2011.

A No.1 hit in 24 countries, the song has sales in excess of 13 million and bagged DeBacker (and co-performer Kimbra) the Grammy for Record of the Year and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance.

Next week will mark the song's one-year anniversary on the ARIA singles chart (it currently sits at 43) but perhaps its biggest achievement was sitting atop the US Billboard singles chart for three weeks -- a milestone unmatched by any Australian artist.

DeBacker's management last week would not elaborate on the specific details surrounding the deal, saying only that it's a matter that he and management "don't really discuss".

It's understood Kimbra, too, gets a percentage of royalties. However, Bonfa and Gotye are equally credited as co-writers according to the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA), supporting the claim the profits are evenly split.

Given that, and assuming that the APRA royalty, 8.9 per cent, is split evenly between the two (and that the track sells for an average price of $1.20), the Bonfa estate would have collected more than $1 million so far -- and counting.

The figure doesn't factor in revenue from streaming or YouTube hits (500 million so far, each reaping a quarter of a cent) and radio airplay royalties which, over the next 50 years, are expected to net tens of millions of dollars.

Independent music analyst Gavin Ryan suggests such arrangements can come about as a way to, initially at least, save money.

"At the time it may have seemed like a viable option but I guess now, in hindsight, not so much," Mr Ryan said.

View the original article here