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Daryl Hall and John Oates Privately Resolve Legal Feud
Variety ^ | Aug 12, 2025 | Thania Garcia

Posted on 08/12/2025 3:51:50 PM PDT by nickcarraway

Daryl Hall and John Oates have resolved their dispute over Oates’ plan to sell his half of their joint venture to Primary Wave Music. Court documents filed Aug. 11 reveal the legal back-and-forth between the duo has now been privately resolved, without any additional information on their deal.

The pair started litigation in 2023 when Hall launched arbitration seeking to block Oates from selling his stake in Whole Oats Enterprises — this includes the band’s name and likeness rights as well as royalties — to Primary Wave.

Primary Wave has become a music-catalog marketing powerhouse over the past 15 years, acquiring assets from Bob Marley, Whitney Houston, James Brown, Prince and many other artists and marketing those assets largely in cooperation with the artists’ reps or estates. As a storied heritage act with dozens of hits that spawned in the 1970s and ‘80s (songs such as “Kiss on My List” and “I Can’t Go for That (No Can Do”), Hall and Oates fit into their business model.

A Nashville judge temporarily blocked Oates’ proposed sale of his share in November of 2023, ruling that the proposed deal could not go through until an arbitrator could decide whether to impose a restraining order.

In the 2023 filings, Hall accused Oates of blindsiding and betraying him. Oates replied in his own filings that he was “deeply hurt” Hall was making “inflammatory, outlandish, and inaccurate statements” about him.

Representatives for Hall and Oates did not immediately return Variety‘s request for comment.

Oates told The Associated Press in 2024 that he’s had “no communication” with Hall and declined to discuss the legal proceedings. He also said that a reunion was “not in my plans at all.”

“You can ask Daryl Hall what he thinks,” he said at the time. “But for me personally, no.”


TOPICS: Music/Entertainment
KEYWORDS: 70s; 80s; catcherorpitcher; halloates; lawsuit; music
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Daryl Hall & John Oates - I Can't Go For That (No Can Do) (Official Video)
1 posted on 08/12/2025 3:51:50 PM PDT by nickcarraway
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To: nickcarraway

Music business is disgusting. It’s best Tobe independent these days. Lots of them out there.


2 posted on 08/12/2025 3:57:23 PM PDT by waterhill (Nobody cares, work harder!)
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To: waterhill

AI is going to drive the final nail into the coffin.


3 posted on 08/12/2025 3:57:58 PM PDT by dfwgator (Endut! Hoch Hech!)
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To: nickcarraway

“The pair started litigation in 2023 when Hall launched arbitration seeking to block Oates from selling his stake in Whole Oats Enterprises — this includes the band’s name and likeness rights as well as royalties — to Primary Wave.”

I can’t go for that.


4 posted on 08/12/2025 3:59:17 PM PDT by mkmensinger
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To: mkmensinger

No can do.


5 posted on 08/12/2025 4:01:50 PM PDT by Allegra (Thank you for your attention to this matter. )
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To: nickcarraway

About any reunion... Daryl Hall was quoted as saying I can’t go for that (no can do)


6 posted on 08/12/2025 4:02:06 PM PDT by Bullish (My tagline ran off with another man, but it's ok---- I wasn't married to it.)
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To: dfwgator

Do you want to listen to all AI music?


7 posted on 08/12/2025 4:04:48 PM PDT by nickcarraway
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To: nickcarraway

I couldn’t care less. They were an awful pop band.


8 posted on 08/12/2025 4:05:19 PM PDT by A Navy Vet (USA Birth Certificate - 1789. Death Certificate - 2021? )
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To: nickcarraway

People will just listen to the oldies. Everything new will be suspect.

It most likely will be that hot, hip new singer/songwriter will use AI to generate their lyrics.


9 posted on 08/12/2025 4:05:45 PM PDT by dfwgator (Endut! Hoch Hech!)
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To: nickcarraway

If they are both listed as writers then Oates can’t sell the rights himself.

I guess he wants to be a Rich Girl.


10 posted on 08/12/2025 4:07:42 PM PDT by Fledermaus ("It turns out all we really needed was a new President!")
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To: nickcarraway
Daryl Hall has a really cool YouTube channel.

We just got a new guy at work who looks just like John Oates. He's actually cool, unlike John.

11 posted on 08/12/2025 4:08:21 PM PDT by real saxophonist (Michael Bennet claps on 1 and 3.)
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To: Fledermaus

Does he have the right to sell his half?


12 posted on 08/12/2025 4:08:44 PM PDT by nickcarraway
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To: real saxophonist

Darryl’s show is really good, regardless of what you might think of Hall and Oates.


13 posted on 08/12/2025 4:09:14 PM PDT by dfwgator (Endut! Hoch Hech!)
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To: nickcarraway

They are both nearing 80. They should just take the money offered and run.


14 posted on 08/12/2025 4:09:23 PM PDT by Jonty30 (If you put some water in your gas tank, with your gas, the gas will stay in the tank longer.)
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To: Jonty30

They were still performing well together. They could still make money touring, if they like to.


15 posted on 08/12/2025 4:10:34 PM PDT by nickcarraway
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To: nickcarraway

Both are pretty wealthy. I have enjoyed Daryl Hall’s home recordings with friends posted on youtube.


16 posted on 08/12/2025 4:11:11 PM PDT by plain talk
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To: dfwgator

Driving around with BIL couple weeks ago in N LA. He was listening to ‘blues’ Bluetoothed to his truck via youtu.be via ai. It was total ai. I made him turn it off and I played some Wes Montgomery and SRV. Threw ins ome Townes for good measure. Real recordings.

We had a couple drinks later and he says “I think ai is going to kill us off”

I agreed.


17 posted on 08/12/2025 4:12:15 PM PDT by waterhill (Nobody cares, work harder!)
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To: plain talk

My fave was the one with Todd Rundgren.


18 posted on 08/12/2025 4:12:20 PM PDT by dfwgator (Endut! Hoch Hech!)
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To: nickcarraway

No clue. Don’t know how that works.


19 posted on 08/12/2025 4:14:06 PM PDT by Fledermaus ("It turns out all we really needed was a new President!")
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To: waterhill

Did you see this Rick Beato video?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKxNGFjyRv0

The thing that scared me isn’t so much the music side, you can still tell if the music is generated by AI, but the composing side takes no effort, and you can simply generate a demo and hire some musicians to record it, and you’ll get songwriting credit for doing nothing but typing in a prompt.

We can all become “Bob Dylan”.


20 posted on 08/12/2025 4:14:50 PM PDT by dfwgator (Endut! Hoch Hech!)
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