Marty O’Donnell and Mike Salvatori were the original composers of the Halo series’ iconic music. Now, they’re suing Microsoft for what they say are 20 years of unpaid royalties.
Marty O’Donnell and Mike Salvatori, the composers for the original Halo trilogy, say Microsoft owes them unpaid royalties for the use of their music, and they’re suing to get them. Their joint studio, O’Donnell Salvatori Inc., will go to mediation with the Halo publisher later this month, and if they can’t reach an agreement, the composers may demand an injunction against the Halo TV series set to launch March 24 on Paramount Plus, O’Donnell said in a lengthy interview with Eurogamer. The dispute goes back more than 20 years, before Microsoft even purchased Bungie and Halo. O’Donnell and Salvatori claim they wrote and recorded the Halo outside of Bungie in the late 1990s, and then licensed the work to the studio. Microsoft believes the work classifies as “work-for-hire,” making the company the “author” of the work. Bungie did hire O’Donnell as its in-house composer in 2000, a year before Halo: Combat Evolved ’s release.
