Khaberni - The Egyptian folk song "Satlana" has returned to dominate search engines again three years after its release, but this time it came with a big surprise.
The audience was surprised to see that the song was used in the events of the eighth season of the American comedy series Malcolm in the Middle, appearing in episode four with the show's characters dancing to its tunes, which sparked controversy.
Some have alleged that the makers of Malcolm in the Middle plagiarized the copyright of the song, performed by several Egyptian folk singers including Abdelbaset Hamouda, Mahmoud El Leithy, Hamdy Batchan, and Hassan El Khalaa, featured in the movie "After Evil" by actor Ali Rabee. However, a response was quickly made by one of its creators.
Acquiring the right to use it
The Egyptian sound engineer Hany Mahrous confirmed in press statements that the production company of the American series did not infringe on the copyright of the song. He added that the American series' producers had been in touch a long time ago with the Egyptian producer Mohamed Mohsen Jaber, who owns all rights to the song "Satlana", and they purchased the right to use it specifically for the events of the series. The agreement included only showcasing the song at the end of the fourth episode without using it in any other scenes, which indeed occurred.
Mahrous continued that featuring the song "Satlana" in an American series is very beneficial as it created a sense of joy among the song’s creators, and it could potentially open up the market for Egyptian songs in global cinema and drama.
It is worth mentioning that the song "Satlana", written by Mostafa Hassan, composed by Karim Ashour, arranged by Amadeo, sound engineered by Hany Mahrous, and performed by Mahmoud El Leithy, Abdel Baset Hamouda, Ahmed Batchan, and Hassan El Khalaa, was featured in the movie "Satlana" by actor Ali Rabee, which was shown in Egyptian cinemas in 2023.
