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Anjunabeats comments on Will.i.am song theft controversy
By Andy Malt | Published on Friday 3 May 2013
Anjunbeats, the label which released Arty and Mat Zo’s single ‘Rebound’, has commented on Will.i.am’s unauthorised use of the track as the basis for his new single, ‘Let’s Go’ featuring Chris Brown.
As previously reported, the similarity between the two tracks was first noted when Will.i.am’s new album, ‘#willpower’, was previewed on Vevo last month. Zo then said that he and Arty had known that Will.i.am was interested in using their track, but that they had decided not to work with him and that no agreement had ever been made regarding his usage of it.
Last week Will.i.am admitted to Kiss FM that he had used the track without permission, but insisted that it was a simple mix up and that it was being resolved, saying: “I’m a fan of Arty; I think he’s great and the world needs to know about how talented those guys are. It’s sad that it’s turned into a fiasco but hopefully it’s resolved because I’m a fan of those guys to the point where I wrote to their instrumental”.
However, Anjunbeats does not seeml as confident as Will.i.am that the matter can be quickly resolved, reiterating that no agreement was ever made over his use of the track, while noting Will.i.am’s apparent ignorance of Mat Zo’s involvement in co-creating it.
The label said: “As has been widely reported, a large section of ‘Rebound’ was sampled on Will.i.am’s track ‘Let’s Go’ featuring Chris Brown and this took place without the permission of Anjunabeats or Arty & Mat Zo. Although Arty (but not Mat Zo) was credited in the sleeve notes, this is not the same as obtaining permission. To present someone else’s work as your own, you need to seek permission, agree terms and file paperwork, which has not happened in this case”.
It concluded: “We’ve remained silent on this issue until now but as a record label it is our obligation to protect our artists’ interests and we felt it was necessary to respond to some of the inaccuracies that have been reported following Will.i.am’s recent comments”.
