Former Evermore frontman Jon Hume sues Universal Music over Dean Lewis smash hit

The co-writer of a song that catapulted Dean Lewis to global success, who once fronted the popular band Evermore, is suing a major record label. See why.

The co-writer of the broken-hearted pop ballad which catapulted Dean Lewis to global stardom is suing the artist’s record label over a dispute about the instrumental parts he played on the song.

Grammy nominated producer and composer Jon Hume, who fronted the mid 2000s chart-topping band Evermore, co-wrote the smash hit Be Alright with Lewis in 2015.

In the legal action filed in Nashville on June 19 against Universal Music Group and Universal Music Australia, the US-based Hume claims he played all the musical parts on the original recording, also known as a “demo.”

He discovered in December last year that some of those parts allegedly feature in the master recording released as the single in 2018 despite being told they were not used.

While he is credited as a co-writer of the song, he is not named as a producer and is now seeking “statutory damages, compensatory damages, reasonable attorneys’ fees, and costs from [UMG] for their direct infringements”, for using his work without permission.

Since the demise of his brothers trio Evermore, Hume splits his time between LA and Nashville employing his pop skills to write and produce hits with Dean Lewis (Be Alright), Sofi Tukker, Elle King and Bebe Rexha. Picture: Supplied

The lovelorn break-up anthem, which has more than two billion streams, launched Lewis onto the global airwaves and went No. 1 in Australia, No. 11 in the UK and top 30 in America. It was nominated for Song of the Year and Best Pop Release at the 2018 ARIA Awards and won for Best Video. He was named the Breakthrough Songwriter of the Year at the 2019 APRA Awards in the wake of Be Alright’s phenomenal success.

In the lawsuit, Hume and his manager and wife Karen Hume said in July 2016 they were asked by Michael Taylor, the former managing director of Universal Music Australia, to send his “stems” – the separate tracks of each instrument he recorded – to another producer based overseas as a “reference” as he worked on the single.

“Michael Taylor assured the Humes that ‘no usage of the Stems from the demo [a reference to the Original Recording] would go into the Master,’” the lawsuit states.

A month later, Taylor asked in an email for permission to use some of the stems from the demo in the finished version of Be Alright which would eventually be released as a single.

The Humes sent the stems and began negotiations for a producer credit on the song

But in May 2018, just weeks ahead of the release of Be Alright, Hume claims Taylor “purposefully and intentionally advised the Humes that [We UMG Australia] did not end up using any of Jon’s files in the final Master.”

Dean Lewis was named Breakthrough Songwriter of the Year at the 2019 APRA Awards after Be Alright blew up worldwide. Picture: Supplied.

Hume co-wrote two other songs on Lewis’ 2019 debut record A Place We Knew. He also co-wrote the hits Hurtless and How Do I Say Goodbye, which featured on the pop star’s second record The Hardest Love which was released in 2022.

In December last year, Lewis sought Hume’s input on another song for his upcoming third record and sent him the “entire collection of stems” of Be Alright as a reference for their new track.

“Upon receipt of those stems and listening to them, Mr. Hume discovered that, contrary to UMG’s representations, more than 50 per cent of the stems” from his demo recording were used in the single version that was released.

“He has identified those STEMS which have been misappropriated,” the lawsuit states.

Hume is credited as a producer on Memories, a single from the artist’s upcoming third record The Epilogue which is released on October 18 ahead of his Australian tour.

Universal Music Australia have “no comment” on the lawsuit.

Originally published as Former Evermore frontman Jon Hume sues Universal Music over Dean Lewis smash hit