Celebs Sued Over Music Samples, Royalties And Copyright Issues

Sometimes artists hear a beat they like and decide to recapture that in a song, but neglect to get permission. Other artists are so selfish they fail to pay the people who write and produce their songs. Here are 9 celebs sued over music.

Robin Thicke

Marvin Gaye’s family is suing Robin claiming he jacked their father’s 1977 song, “Got to Give it Up” for his hit “Blurred Lines.” Robin filed a preemptive lawsuit to put an end to allegations he stole from the legendary singer.

Ryan Leslie

A NYPD detective sued Ryan for using his voicemail without permission in the break up song “Joan of Arc” about his ex-supermodel boo thang.

Quincy Jones

Quincy Jones recently sued Michael Jackson Productions and Sony for $10 million in unpaid royalties for the albums “Bad,” “Thriller” and “Off The Wall.”

Lady Gaga

Teddy Riley is taking Gaga to court for $500,000 in unpaid royalties for the song “Teeth” which appeared on her 2009 album “The Fame Monster.”

Kanye West

In April, Kanye was sued by the family of David Pryor who claimed he sampled a 13-second bit of  Pryor’s song “Bumpin’ Bus Stop” for his smash hit “Gold Digger” without clearance. They asked the judge for  millions in damages and to stop the sale of the song.

Jay Z

A record label representing R&B artist Eddie Bo recently filed a copyright claim against Jay Z for sampling his tune ““Hook & Sling Part 1″ without permission for Jay’s hit “Run This Town.”

The Black Eyed Peas

Funkster George Clinton sued the Black Eyed Peas in 2010 for illegally sampling his song “(Not Just) Knee Deep” for their 2003 single “Shut Up.”

Mac Miller

Mac Miller settled a $10 million lawsuit filed against him for allegedly biting Lord Finesse’s song “Hip 2 The Game” as the basis for “Kool Aid & Frozen Pizza” from Mac’s mixtape K.I.D.S.