grandpianos
All Star
First the Pac cease and desist, now this
Working off recent guidance from the U.S. Copyright Office, Woodard says that the master recording of “BBL Drizzy” is considered “public domain,” meaning anyone can use it royalty-free and it is not protected by copyright, since Willonius created the master using AI music generator Udio. But because Willonius did write the lyrics to “BBL Drizzy,” copyright law says he should be credited and paid for the “U My Everything” sample on the publishing side. “We are focused on the human portion that we can control,” says Woodard. “You only need to clear the human side of it, which is the publishing.”
Upon the release of “U My Everything,” Willonius was not listed as a songwriter on Spotify or Genius, both of which list detailed credits but can contain errors. It turns out the reason for the omission was simple: the deal wasn’t done yet. “We hammered out this deal in the 24th hour,” jokes Woodard, who adds that he was unaware that “U My Everything” sampled “BBL Drizzy” until the day of its release. “That’s just how it goes sometimes.”
It is relatively common for sample clearance negotiations to drag on long after the release of songs. Some rare cases, like Travis Scott’s epic “Sicko Mode,” which credits about 30 writers due to a myriad of samples, can take years. Willonius tells Billboard when he got the news about the “U My Everything” release, he was “about to enter a meditation retreat” in Chicago and let his lawyer “handle the business.”
Full article on RS: Drake and Sexyy Red’s Use of ‘BBL Drizzy’ Sets a New Precedent for AI Sample Clearances
Working off recent guidance from the U.S. Copyright Office, Woodard says that the master recording of “BBL Drizzy” is considered “public domain,” meaning anyone can use it royalty-free and it is not protected by copyright, since Willonius created the master using AI music generator Udio. But because Willonius did write the lyrics to “BBL Drizzy,” copyright law says he should be credited and paid for the “U My Everything” sample on the publishing side. “We are focused on the human portion that we can control,” says Woodard. “You only need to clear the human side of it, which is the publishing.”
Upon the release of “U My Everything,” Willonius was not listed as a songwriter on Spotify or Genius, both of which list detailed credits but can contain errors. It turns out the reason for the omission was simple: the deal wasn’t done yet. “We hammered out this deal in the 24th hour,” jokes Woodard, who adds that he was unaware that “U My Everything” sampled “BBL Drizzy” until the day of its release. “That’s just how it goes sometimes.”
It is relatively common for sample clearance negotiations to drag on long after the release of songs. Some rare cases, like Travis Scott’s epic “Sicko Mode,” which credits about 30 writers due to a myriad of samples, can take years. Willonius tells Billboard when he got the news about the “U My Everything” release, he was “about to enter a meditation retreat” in Chicago and let his lawyer “handle the business.”
Full article on RS: Drake and Sexyy Red’s Use of ‘BBL Drizzy’ Sets a New Precedent for AI Sample Clearances
