Composer Marty O’Donnell has a long history in the games industry, mostly associated withBungie. He lent his talents to series includingMyth,Halo, andDestiny, but now he’s been in contempt of court for violating the terms of a 2015 lawsuit between him andBungie.
Back in 2014,O’Donnell was abruptly fired while composing music forDestiny, which led to the first lawsuit between him and the company. According to court documents from the time period, his firing was likely connected to his negative response toDestinypublisher Activision pulling his original music–a collection calledMusic of the Spheresthat was meant to be the soundtrack for the next 10 years ofDestiny–from the trailer, and to his discovery thatMusic of the Sphereswas not getting a standalone release. Now, Bungie has served the composer with contempt of court papers after realizing thatDestinyvideos breaking the terms of the past lawsuit have been posted to his YouTube and other channels.
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On July 12 this year, Judge Regina Cahan of the Superior Court of Washington King County ruled in Bungie’s favor after examining the evidence presented. As part of the ruling, O’Donnell must remove all relevantDestinymaterials from the internet, as well as submitting a range of electronic devices in his possession for forensic examination. Apparently, this is to ensure that any assets relating to the case, and presumably theoriginal 2015 Bungie lawsuitas well, are deleted. The court order also requires O’Donnell to post a message both parties agree to the wording of to his social media channels, but so far, the composer has simply signal-boosted one of his other soundtracks encouraging fans to buy and help with his legal fees.
Reportedly, the composer has been told to give Bungie any money earned from the sales of music uploaded to Bandcamp as well as paying the studio’s legal fees. The fees are apparently still in dispute, but this may clarify why O’Donnell is pushing his other materials.O’Donnell recently discussed the possibility of his retirementfrom the games industry, which may also be connected to this case.
As of writing, fans appear to be sympathetic to O’Donnell, with several criticizing Bungie for apparently mistreating the composer once again. One Twitter user stated that they wouldn’t have believed Bungie would throw its legal weight around at O’Donnell for sharing his music for free in the middle of a global pandemic before it happened. Apparently, themusic ofHalois fair game for O’Donnellto use, so it is specifically his use ofDestinymusic that got a legal response fromBungie.
