On May 24, Sexyy Red and Drake collaborated on the track “U My Everything.” And in a surprise — Drake's beef with Kendrick Lamar was seemingly over — samples of the track “BBL Drizzy” (originally created using AI by King Viloniusthen mixed by Metro Boomin) during the Toronto rapper's verse.
It's another unexpected twist for what many are calling the first AI-generated hit, “BBL Drizzy.” Although Metro Boomin's remix went viral, his version never appeared on streaming services. “U My Everything” does, making it the first time an AI-generated sample has appeared in official release — and raising new legal questions in the process. More importantly: Does an artist need to clean up a song with an AI-generated sample?
“This specimen is very, very original,” he says Donald Woodard, a partner at the Atlanta-based music law firm Carter Woodard. “There's nothing like it.” Woodard became the legal representative for Willonius, the comedian and AI enthusiast who created the original “BBL Drizzy,” after the track went viral and helped Willonius navigate the complex, fast-moving business of viral music. Woodard says music publishers have already expressed interest in signing Willonius to his track, but so far, the comedian/creator is still only exploring the possibility.
said Willonius Advertising sign that it was “very important” for him to hire the right attorney as his opportunities increased. “I wanted a lawyer who understood the landscape and understood how historic this moment is,” he says. “I've talked to lawyers who didn't really understand AI, but I mean all of us do right now.”
Following recent guidance from the US Copyright Office, Woodard says the master recording of “BBL Drizzy” is considered “public domain,” meaning anyone can use it royalty-free and it's not protected by copyright, as Willonius created the master using AI Udio Music Generator. But because Willonius He made write the lyrics to “BBL Drizzy”, copyright law says he should be credited and paid for the “U My Everything” sample on the publishing side. “We're focused on the human portion that we can control,” says Woodard. “You just need to clean up the human side of it, which is publishing.”
In hip-hop, publishing ownership and royalties are usually split 50/50: Half is expected to go to the producer, the other to the lyricists (who are also often the artists). “U My Everything” was produced by Tay Keith, Luh Ron, and Jake Fridkis, so it's possible that those three producers somehow split this half of the release. The other half is what Willonius could be right for, along with fellow lyricists Drake and Sexyy Red. Woodard says the splits were solidified “post-release” on Tuesday, May 28, but declined to specify what percentage of the split Willonius will receive for the release. “I will, though,” Woodard says, smiling. “He is happy”.
When “U My Everything” was released, Willonius was not listed as a songwriter on Spotify or Genius, which list the credits in detail but may contain errors. It turns out that the reason for the omission was simple: the deal was not yet done. “We hammered out this deal at 24 hours,” jokes Woodard, who adds that he didn't know “U My Everything” sampled “BBL Drizzy” until the day of its release. “That's just how it goes sometimes.”
It is relatively common for sample clearance negotiations to drag on long after the songs have been released. Some rare cases, like Travis Scott's epic “Sicko Mode,” which credits about 30 writers due to myriad samples, can take years. says Willonius Advertising sign when he heard the news about the release of “U My Everything,” he “was about to check into a meditation retreat” in Chicago and let his lawyer “handle the business.”
This sample clearing process raises another question: should Metro Boomin be credited as well? According to Metro's lawyer, Wonda Carter, who is also an associate of Carter Woodard, the simple answer is no. He adds that Metro is not seeking any ownership or rights to “U My Everything.”
“Somehow people associate Metro with the original version of 'BBL Drizzy,' but he didn't create it,” Carter says. “As much as [Drake and Sexyy Red] they only use the original version [of “BBL Drizzy”]that's the only thing that needs to be cleared up,” he continues, adding that Metro is not the type of creative “to trample on the work that someone else is doing.”
When the Metro remix was released on May 5, Carter says she spoke with the producer, his manager and his label, Republic Records, to discuss how they could officially release the song and capitalize on its grassroots success, but finally they decided not to release properly. “Interestingly, the position of the tag was if [Metro’s] he's going to exploit that song, put it on a DSP, it's going to have to be cleared, but nobody knew what that license was going to look like because it was obviously AI.”
He adds, “Metro decided they weren't going to take advantage of the record because trying to clean it up would be the Wild, Wild West.” In the end, however, the release of “U My Everything” threw Carter Woodard into this copyright wasteland, forcing them to find a solution for their other client, Willonius.
In the future, the two attorneys predict that AI could make the jobs of their producing clients much easier, now that there is precedent for overturning AI-generated masters. “It will be cheaper,” Carter says. “Yes, cleaner and cheaper,” says Woodard.
Carter acknowledges that while AI sampling could help some producers with licensing issues, it could hurt others, particularly the “relatively new” phenomenon of “loop producers.” “I don't want to minimize what they're doing,” he says, “but I think they should be more concerned [with AI].” Carter notes that using a producer's loops can cost 5% to 10% on the producer's side of the publication or more. “I think, at least in the near future, producers will start using AI sampling and AI-generated recordings so they can potentially bypass loop producers.”
Songwriter turned publishing executive Evan Bogart said before Advertising sign believes AI could never replace “nostalgic” samples (such as “First Class” by Jack Harlow using Fergie's “Glamorous” or “Big Energy” from Mariah Carey's Latto's “Fantasy” ), where the old song imbues the new with greater meaning. But he said he could foresee it being a digital alternative to digging through boxes for obscure samples to cut up and manipulate beyond recognition.
Although the “U My Everything” complications are over — and set a new precedent for the nascent field of AI sampling in the process — the legal complications with “BBL Drizzy” will continue for Woodard and his client. Now, they're trying to get the original song back on Spotify after it was flagged for removal. “Some guy in Australia came in and said he made it, not me,” says Willonius. A Spotify representative confirms this Advertising sign that the removal of “BBL Drizzy” was due to a copyright claim. “He said he made this song and put it on SoundCloud 12 years ago, and I'm like, 'How was that possible? Nobody was even saying [BBL] 12 years ago,” says Willonius. (Udio has previously confirmed this Advertising sign that the backend data shows that Willonius made the song on his platform).
“I'm in discussions with them to try to resolve the matter,” says Woodard, but “unfortunately, the process of dealing with these types of issues is not easy. Spotify requires the parties to reach a resolution and notify Spotify once this occurs.”
While there's precedent for other “public domain” music to be excluded from royalties, so far, given how new this is all, there's no Spotify policy barring an AI-generated song from earning royalties. These songs are also allowed to remain open on the platform as long as the AI songs do not conflict with Spotify songs platform rulessays a Spotify spokesperson.
Despite the challenges “BBL Drizzy” has posed, Woodard says it's remarkable, after 25 years in practice as a music lawyer, that he's part of setting a precedent for something so new. “The law is still developing and the guidelines are still developing,” says Woodard. “It's exciting to have our company join the conversation, but we're learning as we go.”
from our partners at https://www.billboard.com/pro/drake-sexyy-red-bbl-drizzy-new-precedent-ai-sample-clearances/