It’s always fun for music lovers when their favorite artists reimagine elements from yesteryear hits. Case in point, Beyonce sampled “Milkshake” hitmaker Kelis’ 1999 track “Get Along With You” on a song, titled “Energy,” in her latest studio album “Renaissance” and everyone went gaga over it. But was it also fun for the artist whose song was used? Turns out it wasn’t.
Beyonce allegedly didn’t bother seeking permission before sampling the song. Kelis is now asking for accountability for what looks like a badly handled crediting process on the “Halo” singer and her team’s part. However, this is not the first time that an A-list artist has faced accusations of intellectual property theft.
Like Beyonce, there are several other names who’ve found themselves in the midst of long-drawn legal battles for failing credit where it’s due. First on our list is Kanye “Ye” West. The rapper was sued after he used a viral prayer by a young girl on his 2016 track “Ultralight Beam.”
He was served a lawsuit after he contacted the girl’s biological mother instead of the adoptive parents to seek permission to use the prayer. He was also sued earlier this year after he sampled Marshall Jefferson’s 1986 hit “Move Your Body” on “Flowers” off his “Donda 2” album, without permission and compensation.
It resonated with so many people when Lizzo declared, “I just took a DNA test, turns out I’m 100% that b—h” on her 2019 track “Truth Hurts.” But did you know that songwriting brothers Justin and Jeremiah Raisen had claimed they suggested using the lyric in the song?
Lizzo has trademarked the lyric and even sells merchandise containing the line on her website. The Raisen brothers sought 5% of the songwriting royalties. Lizzo’s reps later said the Raisens’ claim was baseless.
In 2019, a federal jury determined that Katy Perry had improperly copied a Christian rap song while creating her hit “Dark Horse.” The court had ordered her to pay $2.8 million in damages, a decision which was overturned in 2020 when a judge ruled the elements Perry used from the song “Joyful Noise” were common and not protected by copyright.
Earlier this year, Dua Lipa was slapped with two lawsuits, not for sampling but for plagiarizing. On March 1, it was reported that reggae group Artikal Sound System sued Lipa for copying their track, “Live Your Life,” for her hit song “Levitating.”
Three days later, L. Russell Brown and Sandy Linzer accused her of copying either “Wiggle and Giggle All Night” – a song they wrote and was recorded by Cory Daye in 1979 or Miguel Bosé’s “Don Diablo,” which had used the same verse from Daye’s song without songwriting credits.
Similarly, Madonna’s career has been laced with copyright infringement lawsuits. In November 2005, her song “Frozen” was banned from being sold or broadcast in Belgium. This was after local musician Salvatore Acquaviva won a plagiarism case against her.
He alleged the song had plagiarized parts of his song, “Ma Vie Fout L’camp,” which was written five years prior to the release of “Frozen.”
Photo: Valerie Macon/AFP/Getty Images
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