Jay-Z Forced to Give Up 50 Percent of Song Royalties For Stealing Artist’s Melody

American rap mogul Jay-Z has agreed to share 50% of royalties from his 2013 “Versus”

song with Swiss jazz musician Bruno Spoerri for apparently using a melody from Spoerri’s song without his prior authorization.

The rapper had earlier denied having used the melody, but has taken an about-turn and agreed to share proceeds from the single with the celebrated Swiss pianist.

“The rapper had denied copying instrumental ‘Lilith — on the Way’ in his 2013 song ‘Versus,’” Daily Mail reports. “But he has now agreed to pay 50 per cent of the royalties to the Swiss pianist and saxophonist, following an 18-month legal wrangle.”

Spoerri feels that the whole legal tussle was brought about by failure on Jay-Z’s part to follow the due process in acquiring the melody. He says that if the American rapper had followed the right channel, the whole issue wouldn’t have come up in the first place, and it could have been cheaper.

“In a way I’m flattered that a relatively young rapper takes a sample from an old man, a sample that is about 35 years old,” Spoerri said to SwissInfo.CH. “On the other hand, I’m furious because it would have been so simple to clear the sample. All it would have needed was a call or an email to the company, and I think it would have been relatively cheap.”

Spoerri has a music career spanning about 50 years.

The new development comes shortly after Marvin Gaye’s family scooped $7.4 million from Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams after a court ruled that Thicke’s single, ‘Blurred Lines,’ stole from Marvin Gaye’s 1977 hit song, ‘Got to Give it Up.’ Out of the money, $4 million was awarded in damages, and the other $3.4 million came from the song’s profits.

Spoerri’s melody that Jay-Z used is from a 1978 composition. There were already earlier efforts from Jay-Z’s end to pay Spoerri, but the pianist cum saxophonist apparently rejected it, saying it was too low.

Such developments have, however, angered several artists who feel that the rulings are presenting a huge challenge to music artists, rendering it almost impossible to emulate the works or voices of other artists. It equally makes it troublesome borrowing from a specific era, since music elements that define any given era were works of specific artists