In today's CMU Daily: Travis Scott’s lawyers have hit back at a copyright lawsuit that accused the rapper of sampling DJ Jimi track ‘Bitches Reply’ without permission, not once but twice. However, argue the lawyers, the sample - with the lyrics ‘Alright, Alright, Alright’ - is too short and generic to be protected by copyright, so the lawsuit should be dismissed

One Liners: Cash Money, CMW, Discogs deals; BPI LA Sync Mission; Spotify music-only tier; Ronan Keating to leave Magic; Ador to sue over NewJeans rumours; Kurupt FM tenth anniversary show; new releases from Beabadoobee, Ice Spice, Poppy, Caribou, Floating Points, The Jesus Lizard, Illuminati Hotties, Suuns

Also today: Nottingham’s Splendour festival will return in 2025 thanks to new deal between City Council and DHP; Merlin launches new scheme to help emerging technology platforms access music

Travis Scott lawyers say uncleared sample is alright

Lawyers working for Travis Scott have hit back at a sample lawsuit filed against the rapper earlier this year, arguing that nobody can own a copyright in the word “alright”, even if you say it three times in close succession.

“The only alleged copyright infringement here is the alleged copying of the word ‘alright’”, Scott’s attorneys write in response to allegations their client used a sample without licence. And the word ‘alright’, they add, and “the short phrase ‘alright, alright, alright’ lack even the minimal creativity required for copyright protection”.

Why? Well because the “lyrics are too short” and because “they are commonplace, or stock, expressions”. Which seems like common sense. However, Scott is accused of sampling both the lyrics and the recording of those lyrics, which adds complexity, because the lyrics and the recording both need licensing and may be subject to different rules. 

The lawsuit filed by Dion Norman and Derrick Ordogne claims that Scott sampled the 1992 DJ Jimi track ‘Bitches Reply’ not once but twice - first on 2018’s ‘Stargazing’ on his ‘Astroworld’ album, and second on 2023’s ‘Til Further Notice’ on ‘Utopia’.

According to their lawsuit, Norman and Ordogne “own the copyright in the sound recording, musical composition and lyrics” of ‘Bitches Reply’, a claim that seems to be backed up by the US Copyright Office’s records. The track, they note, has been sampled a lot over the years, by artists including Beyonce, Nelly, Kid Cudi, Cardi B and Lil Wayne. 

However, when Scott sampled and interpolated the track, neither he nor his record company Sony Music got a licence. Although they did allegedly get a “sample clearance vendor” to contact Norman and Ordogne to discuss clearing the sample once ‘Utopia’ had been released. Which, the original lawsuit argued, shows that they knew a licence was, in fact, required. 

Scott’s team filed a motion to have the case dismissed earlier this week. Among other things, his lawyers raise issues with Norman Ordogne’s copyright registrations and argue that, with ‘Stargazing’, the statute of limitations for making a copyright claim has expired. 

Beyond those fairly pedestrian legal technicalities, the key argument in the motion for dismissal relates to the sampled element being too short and generic to be eligible for copyright protection. 

To qualify for copyright protection, a work must have “originality of expression”. With samples, a key question is whether any one sample has enough substance, in isolation, to meet the originality requirement. When it comes to the composition and lyrics of a song, it is generally acknowledged that a few beats or a few words are not sufficient. The basis for this is that allowing one person to control the use of a few beats or few words would be too restrictive on everyone else’s freedom of expression. 

However, with sound recordings things are slightly different. Under European law, even a few seconds of a recording can have copyright protection. This is not deemed to restrict anyone’s freedom of expression because another creator could simply recreate the recording. This means that, in practical terms, under European copyright systems, Scott may not need a licence for the publishing rights, but probably would for the recording. 

However, US law has been somewhat inconsistent when it comes to how much substance there needs to be for a snippet of a recording to be protected by copyright. 

Either way, Scott’s lawyers are adamant that Norman and Ordogne do not have any copyrights to enforce in this particular case. “The Copyright Act does not protect ‘stock’ expressions”, their legal filing continues. Because “the allegedly infringed phrase ‘Alright, Alright, Alright’ is too commonplace to be copyrightable”, they add, the copyright claim “should be dismissed”.

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Horizon is CMU's new weekly newsletter - published each Friday - that brings you a hand-picked selection of early-stage career opportunities from across the music industry.

Whether you're looking for your first job in music or you're ready to take a step up, Horizon is here to help you find your dream job faster.

👉 Click through to see the current selection.

ONE LINERS

Cash Money, Discogs, LA Sync Mission, Ice Spice + more

DEALS

Cash Money Records has signed four Puerto Rican artists: Jeyyff, Valentín Jadiellee, Midnvght and El Blxnco. “By embracing these Latin artists, we embark on an exhilarating new chapter in our journey”, says co-CEO Ronald ‘Slim’ Williams. “We are dedicated to supporting them and to help them realise their potential while introducing them to current and new fans globally”.

Music conference and showcase festival Canadian Music Week has been acquired by Loft Entertainment and Oak View Group. This follows the announcement last week that founder Neill Dixon is to retire. “It has been an incredible journey to see Canadian Music Week grow from a small gathering of music lovers to one of the most influential music festivals and conferences in the world”, says Dixon. This year’s event is taking place in Toronto now with the festival side running until Saturday.

Discogs has acquired Stoat Labs’ Wantlister technology to improve its own wantlist feature. “The Discogs community deserves best-in-class solutions to meet their record-collecting needs, both those developed in-house and those acquired from equally passionate external sources”, says Discogs COO Lloyd Starr. “The acquisition and integration of Wantlister addresses immediate needs that our users have been asking about for years. It is just the latest example of our investment to modernise the Discogs platform for all users”.

EVENTS

Record industry trade group BPI has announced that its next LA Sync Mission will take place on 9-13 Sep. “The LA sync market continues to flourish so we are excited to be returning for our 20th year, enabling label and publishing executives to gain valuable insights into the most lucrative sync licensing market in the US”, says BPI Director Independent Member Services Chris Tams. “With a proven track record for UK songwriters and music companies, the mission provides a huge opportunity for UK music exports in the US’s booming media scene”. Apply to take part here. 

DIGITAL 

Spotify has now formally added a new music-only subscription tier in the UK, which it’s calling Basic Individual. It’ll cost you £10.99 a month, a pound less than Premium Individual, which includes fifteen hours of audiobook listening. This follows price increases in the US, which saw Premium go up a dollar to $11.99 a month, Duo go from $14.99 to $16.99, and Family from $16.99 to $19.99.

MEDIA

Ronan Keating has announced that he is stepping down as presenter of the Breakfast Show on Magic Radio at the end of July after seven years. He told listeners this morning that he will be “getting back to my music and touring”. It’s not a complete farewell though, Content Director, Rachel Mallender says that he will still “be popping up on the station” in the future. 

ARTIST NEWS

K-pop agency Ador has announced that it is “preparing for civil and criminal lawsuits, and other legal actions” against people who made “malicious comments” online about girl group NewJeans. Earlier this week, SM Entertainment said that it would take legal action against people posting “entirely false” rumours about two members of boy band NCT. 

GIGS & FESTIVALS

Kurupt FM have announced a show at Brixton Academy in London on 28 Sep to mark the tenth anniversary of their BBC sitcom ‘People Just Do Nothing’. Tickets go on sale tomorrow. 

RELEASES

Beabadoobee has released new single ‘Coming Home’. Her new album ‘This Is How Tomorrow Moves’ is out on 6 Aug. 

Ice Spice has announced that she will release her debut album ‘Y2K!’ on 26 Jul. She will also play Wireless Festival in London on 12 Jul. 

Poppy has released new single ‘No Way Out’. 

Caribou is back with new single ‘Broke My Heart’. He’s also announced UK shows in February 2025, including three nights at the Roundhouse in London. Tickets on sale now. 

Floating Points has released new single ‘Del Oro’. 

The Jesus Lizard have announced that they will release their first album for two decades, titled ‘Rack’, on 13 Sep. Out now is first single ‘Hide & Seek’. 

Illuminati Hotties has announced that her new album ‘Power’ will be released on 23 Aug. Out now is its second single ‘Don’t’ featuring Cavetown. 

Suuns have released ‘The Breaks’, the title track from their new album, which is out on 6 Sep. They’ve also announced a London show at Studio 9294 on 12 Sep.

Nottingham’s Splendour festival future secured in new five year deal with council

Nottingham’s Splendour festival is set to return next year with a new deal between the city’s council and promoter DHP Family close to being finalised. The 2024 edition of the festival had to be cancelled in January after delays in a tendering process put in place by the local authority - which related to the onward production of the festival - meant there wouldn’t be time to deliver the event once that process was completed. 

Splendour originally began in 2008 as a partnership between DHP and Nottingham City Council, staged in the city’s Wollaton Park, which is managed by the local authority. 

In 2018, a new five year deal was put in place that saw the relationship between DHP and the council evolve to reduce the council’s financial risk. Then, after the 2023 edition, the council decided the festival was now a ‘concession’, which meant the running of the event had to be put up for tender. 

According to the Nottingham Post, a report put together in advance of a council meeting due to take place next week admits that the cancellation of this year’s edition of the festival has had “a detrimental reputational impact on the city alongside a loss of income to the council”. The report  adds that getting a deal in place to safeguard the future of the festival was important for the city because the annual event “has created positive recognition, economic and social benefit”. 

The tendering process took longer than originally intended. When announcing that the 2024 edition of the festival would not go ahead, DHP boss George Akins told the BBC: “We have tried hard to make Splendour work in 2024, but the delays caused by the tendering process have meant this just hasn't been possible”.

The delays it had caused were, Akins said, “hugely frustrating”, adding that the council was aware of the timelines involved in staging the festival and that “2023’s headliners were contracted more than a year in advance”. But, he added, “we will always be willing to work with the council to make it happen in 2025 and beyond”.

The council report states that the council and DHP are now “largely in agreement” about the terms of their new deal, which will cover the next five editions of the festival, which are expected to generate around £11.8 million in revenue.

It’s no secret that the festivals market is incredibly challenging at the moment, especially for independent promoters. The Association Of Independent Festivals recently revealed that more than 40 festivals have now cancelled, postponed or shut down this year, and the total number could top 100 by the end of the year unless more government support is provided. 

So, while it was understandably frustrating for DHP that this year’s Splendour couldn't go ahead, at least a deal is now in place that should safeguard the event through to 2029.

Setlist Podcast: It’s been a bad week to be Live Nation

In this week's Setlist Podcast: Chris Cooke and Andy Malt discuss the US government’s legal action against Live Nation that seeks to force it to sell off Ticketmaster, ticket touts’ plans to fight the Labour Party’s proposed 10% price cap on the resale of tickets, and more.

🎧 Click here to listen - or search for 'Setlist Podcast'

Merlin Connect hopes to make it easier for emerging technology platforms to use music

Indie label digital rights agency Merlin has announced a new initiative called Merlin Connect which aims to make it easier for “emerging technology platforms” to access music released by Merlin-member labels. 

“The majority of technology companies that attempt to license quality music find the process challenging, time consuming and expensive”, says Merlin in a statement. “That means very few platforms have the opportunity to experiment and learn how quality music can have a positive impact on their users and change the trajectory of their growth”. 

It’s no secret that music licensing can be a challenge, especially if you are developing an innovative business model where it’s not immediately clear how any licensing agreement will be structured and future revenues shared. How much time should record labels and music publishers invest in figuring these things out if it’s not clear if the business model will succeed in the long-term?

Those challenges can stop what could be successful business models from getting to market, resulting in a small number of usually very well funded platforms dominating the market. That’s not ideal for the industry at large, and especially for indie labels whose artists and catalogues might particularly benefit from more alternative and niche platforms and technologies. 

Merlin hopes that its Connect initiative will help overcome these challenges and open up opportunities for its member labels. Horst Weidenmüller, founder of one of those labels, !K7, says “Merlin has always been dedicated to empowering independence, ensuring that its members receive the access and opportunities they deserve”. 

“With the launch of Merlin Connect”, he adds, “we are taking a significant step forward in this mission. This initiative underscores Merlin's ongoing dedication to fostering innovation in the independent music sector”. 

Interested platforms will have to go through an application process to access Connect. “Every application will be reviewed”, Merlin’s statement explains, “and then the Merlin team will selectively engage with the most promising platforms”. 

One other big challenge with music licensing is that both recording rights and song rights need to be licensed, and licensing the song rights can be especially challenging, for various reasons. 

A platform doesn’t necessarily know what specific songs are contained in any recordings provided by a record label or music distributor, nor who owns the copyright in those songs. Many songs are also co-owned by multiple music publishers and - depending on how the music is used - it might be the publisher or a collecting society that does the deal. 

That said, new services operating in a single territory during a pilot phase can often get a blanket licence on the songs side through the collective licensing system. Which can make things simpler, at least initially, if recordings can be accessed via something like Merlin Connect.