There truly is no Sonny without Cher, and the Central District of California has agreed. In Cher v. Bono, the court held that federal copyright termination rights do not preempt an entitlement to royalties arising under state contract laws and that Cher must be paid her half of royalties for iconic songs written by Sonny Bono and recorded by Sonny and Cher during their marriage in the 1960s and ’70s, including “I Got You Babe” and “The Beat Goes On.” The Grammy-award-winning artist filed suit in 2021 against her former husband’s fourth wife and surviving widow, Mary Bono, seeking continuing payment of a 50% share of royalties from musical compositions and recordings created or acquired during her marriage to Sonny. After three years of litigation, Judge Kronstadt rejected Mary Bono’s attempt to terminate Cher’s royalties, ruling that Sonny and Cher’s divorce settlement agreement was not preempted by federal copyright termination provisions.
