Roger Hodgson ordered to divide Supertramp royalties

An appeals court has ruled that Supertramp’s former front man, Roger Hodgson, must once again divide songwriting royalties with the other members of the group.

This ruling closes out a lengthy legal fight between Hodgson and his former bandmates, bassist Dougie Thomson, saxophonist John Helliwell, and drummer Bob Siebenberg.

The disagreement began in 2018, when Hodgson chose to stop giving a portion of Supertramp’s publishing royalties to the rest of the band.

Supertramp’s catalogue features their hit 1979 album Breakfast in America, along with the records Crime of the Century, Crisis? What Crisis? In the Quietest Moments, Paris and Famous Last Words.

Hodgson initially won in 2024, after a Los Angeles jury decided it was fair for him to end Supertramp’s 1977 royalty-sharing arrangement following more than four decades.

The latest court decision overturns that outcome, stating that the case should never have been brought before a jury in the first place.

As a result, Thomson, Helliwell, and Siebenberg will once again collect royalties from Hodgson, a move that their legal representatives welcomed.

“We are extremely gratified that, by reversing the trial court’s clear error below, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has preserved our clients’ legacy for themselves and their heirs while restating common sense California law that will continue to govern similar matters going forward,” their attorneys told Billboard.