Daryl Hall and John Oates have resolved theirdisputeover 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 startedlitigationin 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. More from Variety Daryl Hall Says Yacht Rock Is a 'F-ing Joke' That 'Suddenly Became a Genre:' 'It's Just R&B With Some Jazz in There' Daryl Hall and Elvis Costello Make Double-Feature Dreams Come True at the Greek: Concert Review John Oates Talks Songwriting, His Long Career and Living in Nashville But Sidesteps Legal Fight with Longtime Partner Daryl Hall at SXSW 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 returnVariety's request for comment. Oates toldThe Associated Pressin 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." Best of Variety New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week What's Coming to Disney+ in August 2025 What's Coming to Netflix in August 2025 Sign up forVariety's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us onFacebook,Twitter, andInstagram.
