NEW YORK, July 21, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Intervenor Marcel Albert, professionally known as Marc Mysterio, has filed a comprehensive reply in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York asserting his right to intervene and claim a charging lien in Sony Music Entertainment et al. v. Rhapsody International Inc. et al. (Case No. 1:25-cv-06352-LAP).
Mysterio argues that major recording artists including Shakira, Aerosmith (“Dream On”), Jennifer Lopez, Crash Test Dummies, Shaggy, and himself were arbitrarily excluded from a February 9, 2026 Final Default Judgment entered by Judge Loretta A. Preska. The judgment awarded Sony Music $9,226,206 in actual damages for breaches of contract against Rhapsody International Inc., plus $12 million in statutory damages ($50,000 per work for each of the 240 works listed in Exhibit A) against the defaulting defendants, for a combined total of approximately $21.226 million. Claims against Napster Do Brasil Licenciamento De Musica LTDA and Does 1-10 were never adjudicated, and no Rule 54(b) certification was entered which is a prerequisite for filing the notice of appeal Sony did of the Default Judgment that Sony’s counsel argued for.
In a bizarre twist, that same counsel now argues that the lack of certification precludes intervenors like Mysterio and similarly situated artists whose Sony Music recordings were infringed from seeking justice, including Shakira, Jennifer Lopez, Aerosmith, and Mysterio himself, and allegedly many more.
Mysterio asserts copyright interests and third-party beneficiary rights in recordings distributed through The Orchard.
He specifically notes that the entire catalogs of Shakira, Jennifer Lopez, and IFPI Platinum-certified Marc Mysterio/Shaggy collab, as well as Marc Mysterio’s entire catalog (Netflix’s Trailer Park Boys Anthem, etc.) with both plaintiffs Sony Music and The Orchard, were excluded from the judgment, along with Aerosmith’s “Dream On.”
Mysterio argues this places him in a similar status to the other excluded major artists.
Mysterio is contesting a conflict of interest, noting that the same counsel is simultaneously arguing in one courtroom that artists should be paid every cent and that metadata must be paramountly correct, while in a courtroom down the hall confirming that Amazon shadowbanned Mysterio — stopping his 82 million streams from 17 million unique listeners (45% organic) between September 2023 and 2024.
Mysterio alleges this duality exposes the music industry’s contradictions.
Mysterio further highlights his July 3, 2026 filing (Docket No. 63), a Motion to Compel the New York Attorney General’s Office for in camera review to provide an unredacted copy of Exhibit 1: “Sony Music Bribery/Payola Evidence” available on SDNY PACER Court Records.
The motion includes the Declaration of Marcel Albert in Support of his Motion to Intervene as of Right Pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 24(a)(2), along with a request for a hearing with live testimony from high-profile EVP of Sony Music Business & Legal Affairs Stuart Bondell.
The filing contains 18 exhibits, including internal bulletins from Sony Music’s Columbia Records from the early 2000s and the full list of Shakira’s song releases present on Napster that were likely infringed during the period covered by the complaint, as well as Aerosmith’s “Dream On,” widely regarded as the greatest rock anthem of all time according to both Eminem and Mysterio himself.
Moreover, in the matter of Albert v. Distrokid, LLC, Amazon is currently before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
Mysterio appeals only the dismissal as to DistroKid LLC, holding them responsible for events that allegedly led to Amazon’s shadowban, while Amazon remains dismissed leaving them powerless on appeal.
The landmark 40-page March 13, 2026 Opinion and Order on the Motion to Dismiss under Rule 12 established an artist’s right to legal standing to directly sue digital service providers based on their contracts with distributors and labels — a significant victory that grants artists, for the first time, legal standing to sue Music Streaming Services such as Amazon Music directly as third party beneficiaries to the LABEL -DSP distribution and licensing agreement.
Mysterio, who was represented on the docket by the Law Firm of Michael H. Joseph during the Motion to Dismiss proceedings, which established the landmark artists’ right to sue DSPs stated:
“Even though Mike and I have our differences, we still made history and that ruling now stands, while Amazon can’t do anything about it, who won now Amazon? Artists!”
Mysterio added:
“I suggest, since there’s no musician union like SAG, that Shakira, Steven Tyler, Jennifer Lopez and myself get on a call together and decide if we will take further action against Sony under NY laws of good faith and fair dealing independent of this act if either the court refuses to act, or Sony fails to instruct their counsel to rectify this matter immediately,” Mysterio concludes.
Mysterio is seeking intervention as of right under Fed. R. Civ. P. 24(a)(2) and/or Sua Sponte 1651(a)Mandamus, a charging lien against any proceeds, and discovery of all tracks infringed, not just the 240 on Sony’s allegedly disputed list certified by counsel as complete (despite Mysterio’s own Sony/The Orchard Royalty Statements allegedly showing otherwise), and to set aside the default judgment pending further proceedings solely as to the fiscal damages, with liability established.
The matter remains pending before Judge Loretta A. Preska, and the case number at US District Court, Southern District New York: 1:25-cv-06352, while Albert v. DISTROKID, Amazon Music: 1:25-cv-01705 before Judge Faillla and USCA 2ND CIRCUIT: 26-1703. All filings in both cases available via Pacer with Jonathan Sperling, ESQ., a Billboard Top Ranked Litigation AttornEsq representing both Sony and Amazon respectively.
About Marc Mysterio:
Marc Mysterio is a 2X Billboard Charging multi-platinum musician who scored 82,000,000 streams on Amazon Music from September 2023-2024, at nearly 50-50 organic discovery with over 17,000,000 unique listeners on the platform in that year’s span, that, according to Billboard, has collaborated with David Guetta, Avicii, Netflix’s Trailer Park Boys Series. Marc was instrumental in reforming a new Crash Test Dummies lineup in 2024-2017 with lead singer Brad Roberts and Mark Crozer of Jesus and The Mary Chain with the new lineup’s “Promised Land” receiving over 10M streams on Amazon Music alone.
Marc is also an undefeated pro boxer sanctioned by IBA to fight Jake Paul in early 2023 for it’s Super Cruiserweight Championship according to both UK/US DAILY EXPRESS and Irish Star.
Finally, Marc has celebrity success in his blood: Anderson Cooper is his cousin through their closest shared lineage descending from Annica van Salee (and her husband Thomas Southard), with the duo’s historical connection tracing back to the notorious legendary Dutch pirate-turned-admiral Jan Janszoon.
Moreover, WWE HALL OF FAMER and Trainer Walter “Killer” Kowalski was a Great Uncle via Common Law Marriage to Marc’s great aunt is the 60s and instrumental in his training how to conduct himself as a public figure, and even trained him as a Professional Wrestler prior to his music career in the late 90s.
Marc Mysterio on X: @marc_mysterio
Contact:
Law Office of Michael H. Joseph
www.newyorktriallawyers.org
For Marc Mysterio:
Paddy O’Connor
PRO BOXING PR
[email protected]
View original content:SOURCE Law Office of Michael H. Joseph, PLLC
