Source: Mattia Ozbot – Inter / Getty
Kanye West and Ty Dolla $ign's collaborative album, Vultures 1, has only been out for a second, but already the two artists are being taken to court over it. Both artists are being sued for copyright infringement (sort of) by Donna Summer's estate.
According Digital Music News, Kanye West attempted to purge a sample of Donna Summer's “I Feel Love” from her estate. Although he was denied permission to do so at the time, the sample ended up in their song, “Good (Don't Die),” in a strange way anyway. Taking to Instagram to express her anger at the situation, her estate wrote: “Kanye West… asked for permission to use Donna Summer's song 'I Feel Love', refused, changed the words, had someone re-sing it or used AI but it's 'I Feel Love'—copyright infringement!”.
Well, that's one way to try to get around a copyright situation.
The lawsuit comes after both Nicki Minaj and even Ozzy Osborne refused samples of their music to be used on Kanye. Vultures 1 album with Ozzy taking issue with Ye sampling his song “Iron Man” without his permission. How that plays out, given that Kanye didn't exactly sample Donna Summer's original song, should be interesting in the new age of artificial intelligence and digital enhancements.
Per Digital Music News:
Sudano says that in January 2024, someone from Alien Music reached out on behalf of the rappers to confirm ownership of the composition “I Feel Love” and request permission to sample it. “In considering Defendant's request, the Summer estate not only took into account the enormous commercial value of the composition, but also the potential diminution of Summer's legacy,” the suit states.
“West is known as a controversial public figure whose behavior has led many brands and business partners to disassociate themselves from him,” the lawsuit continues. The estate refused permission for a sample in early February, which he defined as “an absolute prohibition against any licensee (or other recording artist) covering I FEEL LOVE from using a Donna Summer soundalike or using the original Donna Summer recording.”
His album Vultures 1 was released to the public on February 10, with the track “Good (Don't Die)” featuring the song. “In the face of these repeated denials, West and the Co-Defendants attempted to overcome this roadblock by instead filing an unauthorized interference,” the the lawsuit claims. The track has been removed from Spotify and other major DSPs at the request of the Summer estate.
You may need to keep that L sample when all is said and done.
What do you think? Is Kanye wrong for trying to recreate Donna Summer's song after being denied permission to sample it? Let us know in the comments section.
