Ye lost in copyright lawsuit

Rapper Kanye West, who now performs under the name Ye, has lost a copyright infringement lawsuit over the use of an unauthorized sample in a version of his song "Hurricane."

A group of four musicians, Khalil Abdul Rahman, Sam Barsh, Dan Siff and Josh Mays, filed a lawsuit against Ye, claiming that an unauthorized sample of their track "MSD PT2" was used during a live performance of the song.

The song "Hurricane" was later released on Ye's 2021 album "Donda," but the lawsuit was related to an earlier version of the song that the rapper performed live at an Atlanta stadium in July 2021.

A federal jury in Los Angeles has now unanimously ruled that Ye infringed the copyright for "MSD PT2," holding him personally liable for $176, while his company, Yeezy LLC, is liable for the same amount.

Yeo's retail companies Yeezy Supply and Mascotte Holdings were also found liable for more than $40 each.

The legal representative of the four musicians, Briton Monts, stated:

"This is a victory for working artists, who usually don't have the resources to stand up to someone like Yeo, a megastar and celebrity. The underdogs have had their day in court."

On the other hand, a spokesman for Yeo called this a "failed extortion attempt."

"Six months ago they were asking for $30 million from Yeo. Moral of the story? There is a price for those who think they can use Yeo," he said.

The musicians claim that the recording of "MSD PT2" was shared with Yeo's team during preliminary discussions and that they expected to be "fairly paid" for any commercial use.

Semple did not end up on the final version of the album, but they claim that the mere public performance of the song constituted copyright infringement.

Irene Lee, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, said an expert analysis showed that the performance brought Ye about $5,5 million through ticket sales, merchandise, a streaming deal with Apple and a collaboration with Gap for a jacket that Ye wore on stage during the performance.

Yeo's lawyer, Eduardo Martorel, countered that the rapper's fame and achievements were the reason for the income, "not the one-minute, one-second instrumental," telling the jury:

"We don't think we should be here at all. This lawsuit should never have been filed. The artists have led my client to believe throughout that he had permission to use their music."

Ye himself testified during the trial that "a lot of people are trying to exploit it," adding to the jury that they "went through the normal process" to secure permission to use the samples.

The song "Hurricane" later won the award for Best Melodic Rap Performance at the 2022 Grammy Awards.