Court Rules That Former Destiny Composer Illegally Distributed And Sold Music

Last year, former Bungie composer Marty O'Donnell said he should have "flipped the table" when he heard about how Activision was planning to treat Bungie when the latter was in the process of being purchased by the former. That's probably not the only decision he now regrets. O'Donnell departed the Destiny and Destiny 2 developer in 2014 but has recently found himself on the losing end of a suit against his former company for distributing some of his old compositions on the internet.

Eurogamer is reporting that O'Donnell uploaded to his YouTube channel and other sources "early musical sketches of what became Music of the Spheres, the much-loved musical foundation for 2014's Destiny." In a case filed in April, Bungie said that O'Donnell was required to return all music relating to Music of the Spheres when he left the company, and his distributing the tracks, which he began doing in 2019, "proves he did not comply with the order."

On July 12, O'Donnell was found in contempt of court, owing Bungie $100,000, as well as any money he earned through sales of the music via Bandcamp. He's also on the hook for attorney's fees and the cost of a third-party examination of his electronic devices to determine if he recently deleted any of the relevant tracks. O'Donnell's representatives have appealed the amount of the penalty, calling it "unreasonable." He's asked fans to buy one of his soundtracks to "help with my huge legal bills."