Lil Nas X should let Travis Scott tell him something…
Ah, yes. The old saying that says, “What goes up, must come down.” After flexing on Billboard after they pulled his country-infused single, “Old Town Road” off of the Billboard charts, Lil Nas X has gone on to have the longest reign in Billboard Hot 100 history, beating the likes of songs such as “Despacito” and “One Sweet Day” (Mariah Carey/ Boyz II Men). I mean, my guy finessed the game by making FIVE remixes and meme’ing his way to the top. While this is in no way a small accomplishment, it seems that someone tried to rain on his well-earned parade.
With all of his success, it may seem like everyone wants you to win, (Remember, Khaled tells us the opposite) while there are some who may have despised his quick ascension. All of that has changed when I heard Lil Nas X being sued for $25M off of the accusation that he used an uncleared sample. Before I even continue, this sounds like a similar case with Travis Scott’s “Antidote” and we all know how that ended. Okay, I guess I’m the only one? Well then, let me tell you the story….
“Sampling” is the act of extracting one part of the song (maybe tweaking it a bit) to put into another song. This is often a common practice with producers.
*Insert flashback music and change of scene**
I remember the somber, humid day like it was yesterday (not really, but go along with it), it was back in 2015 and I was waiting for the world to finally acknowledge Travis for his talent. On the 28th of July, Travis released a song on SoundCloud that would forever change his career. From the first listen, I saw the potential but never knew it would be his “breakout” single. Nevertheless, over time I saw the single rising in popularity to the point where I was putting everyone “on” to Travis and his classic record, Rodeo (yes, it is a classic). It turns out Trav was putting people on as well, but I’ll get to that later.
Before I continue, there’s some context that I need to add:
1. “Sampling” is the act of extracting one part of the song (maybe tweaking it a bit) to put into another song. This is often a common practice with producers.
2. Sampling requires permission (from the artist, music publisher and the entity that owns the master recording) and costs money. The cost varies on how big a song is, the use of the intended sample and various factors.
3. It’s way easier (still not fully legal) to get away with uncleared samples on SoundCloud compared to Spotify.
4. PSA to all artists: YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR CLEARING A SAMPLE REGARDLESS IF YOUR PRODUCER DOES NOT GIVE YOU A HEADS UP!!!!
5. Travis Scott sampled Lee Fields’s “All I Need” (Link provided)
SoundCloud was legendary to our generation for a couple of reasons. First, it allowed creatives to not hold back and share their true talent without worrying about being sued (before they gave Universal full access to take down songs). Second, it has given birth to a new age of rap superstars. Third, it gave birth to a whole sub-genre known as “SoundCloud Rap” and so much more. A very “slept on” addition is that SoundCloud allowed artists to “handpick” their singles by allowing the streets to choose. This is where the story warms up a little bit.
Long story short, Travis originally released the song on SoundCloud just cause and didn’t really expect anything from it. However, when his label and his team saw its popularity, what would a sensible person do? Put money behind the single so it can blow. This has been a tactic that has given singles such as “Butterfly Effect,” “XO Tour Life,” “Look At Me!” & “Antidote” new legs to reach a larger crowd and demographic. But remember, someone forgot to clear the sample (idk who did) however, Travis was able live to fight another day.
Sidenote: Even though this is my second article, please be familiar with me using “long story short” all the time. In fact, when I use that phrase, please know that I’m really about to go ham on the thing that I am talking about.
To explain this in the simplest way possible, the profit (or royalties) generated from a song goes to the entities who own the master rights (the sound recording of a song) and songwriter rights (the lyrics and melody used in the song). Because the melody was used in “Antidote,” the music publisher (who owned the songwriter rights to “All I Need”) had leverage to demand their price (50% of composition royalties) because Travis already released the song. In fact, the music publisher could have demanded MORE but again, due to leverage.
So I pretty much used the entire article to talk about Travis Scott. However, like the saying says, “history repeats itself.” Personally, I believe a $25M lawsuit is pretty excessive BUT, in this case, the accuser has leverage and lots of it as the song was placed on Spotify, Youtube and Soundcloud without a clearance. We’ll have to wait and see how the courts decide to figure this one out. To me, it would make sense to settle this issue outside of the courts, but they try to set an example with this scenario.
It’s ya boy Vicraw, I’ve been out of the mix, I’ve been in the cut and I am here to say, “What’s Up.”
