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Halo Composers Reportedly Settle Lawsuit With Microsoft Over Unpaid Royalties

The Halo composers who sued Microsoft over unpaid royalties have seemingly settled the lawsuit.


Marty O'Donnell and Mike Salvatori filed the suit in February claiming that Microsoft was not paying them the agreed upon amount for using their music in the upcoming Halo TV series.

In a tweet earlier today, however, O'Donnell said that "Microsoft and O'Donnell/Salvatori Inc are pleased to have amicably resolved their differences."

Looks like I'll be able to share some of those videos once again! Microsoft and O’Donnell/Salvatori, Inc., are pleased to have amicably resolved their differences.https://t.co/ZLnhFgblr6

— Marty O'Donnell (@MartyTheElder) April 18, 2022

The pair had originally claimed they signed a contract with Microsoft that guaranteed them 20% of the profits made from their music, such as in the Halo TV show, soundtracks, and so on.

O'Donnell told Eurogamer at the time: "If this is 20% then it doesn't seem like Microsoft is really making much money." Microsoft disagreed, saying that their music was made as work-for-hire, meaning it owned the music and not them.

A pre-trial date was set for May 9 this year but now, due to the apparent settlement, proceedings will have been called off.


The Halo TV show premiered in March on Paramount+ and four out of an eventual nine episodes have aired so far.

In our 7/10 review of episode one, IGN said: "While the Halo series struggles the capture the dynamic action of the games, the first episode succeeds in building a compelling narrative that forges its own path."

IGN has reached out to Microsoft for comment.


Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer who occasionally remembers to tweet @thelastdinsdale. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

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