Justin Bieber could be about to land himself in a whole lot of trouble, after an indie artist has accused him of illegally sampling one of her tracks.
Both The Biebs and music producer Skrillex are the subject of a lawsuit from singer/songwriter White Hinterland (or Casey Dienel, as her mates call her), who has claimed that his track ‘Sorry’ uses a sample of her vocals without her permission.
As described by White Hinterland on her official Facebook page, ‘Sorry’ allegedly contains an unauthorised eight-second vocal sample which is “prominently featured” in her track, ‘Ring The Bell’.
She writes: “The writers, producers, and performers of ‘Sorry’ did not obtain a license for this exploitation of my work, nor did they obtain or seek my permission. Yesterday afternoon, I filed a lawsuit for copyright infringement against Justin Bieber and the other responsible parties.
“The writers, producers, and performers of “Sorry” did not obtain a license for this exploitation of my work, nor did they obtain or seek my permission. Yesterday afternoon, I filed a lawsuit for copyright infringement against Justin Bieber and the other responsible parties.”
White Hinterland goes on to accuse the chart-topping singer of “ignoring” her letters regarding what she sees as copyright infringement.
She continues: “Justin Bieber is the world’s biggest artist, and I’m sure that he and his team will launch a full attack against me. But, in the end, I was left with no other option. I believe I have an obligation to stand up for my music and art.”
Listen to White Hinterland’s ‘Ring My Bell’ below…
...and then compare it to Justin Bieber’s ‘Sorry’ here…
Justin isn’t the only star who’s been accused of copying other artists in recent times.
Last year, Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams were sued for just under £5m for their track ‘Blurred Lines’, which Marvin Gaye’s estate deemed was too close to his song ‘Got To Give It Up’ for comfort.
Similarly, Mark Ronson was required to make The Gap Band co-writers on ‘Uptown Funk’, due to the song’s resemblance to ‘Oops Upside Your Head’, while Sam Smith’s ‘Stay With Me’ gained an extra credited writer in Tom Petty, due to another legal claim.
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