Once again, the Weeknd is being sued. This time around it's because the Canadian R&B star allegedly ripped off three U.K. songwriters to create his Starboy track "A Lonely Night."
The three songwriters — Williams "Billy" Smith, Brian Clover and Scott McCulloch — are suing the Weeknd and Belly for copyright infringement, according to court documents obtained by The Blast. According to the suit, the Weeknd and Belly blatantly ripped off the U.K. songwriters' track "I Need to Love" to create the 2016 Starboy song "A Lonely Night."
To help us all see the similarities, the U.K. songwriting team has even edited together "I Need to Love" and "A Lonely Night," and you can make up your own mind by checking out the comparison in the player below.
The songwriters claim that they wrote their song in 2004-2005 and then pitched it to various artists across the globe. The lawsuit claims that a division of Universal Music acquired the rights to their songs in 2008, but the trio were then told in 2016 that the major label was relinquishing all rights.
Soon after, though, the Weeknd released "A Lonely Night," and they are now accusing him and Belly of stealing their song.
The trio now want unspecified damages, in addition to $150,000 per infringement and forensic accounting to figure out how much they're owed.
The three songwriters — Williams "Billy" Smith, Brian Clover and Scott McCulloch — are suing the Weeknd and Belly for copyright infringement, according to court documents obtained by The Blast. According to the suit, the Weeknd and Belly blatantly ripped off the U.K. songwriters' track "I Need to Love" to create the 2016 Starboy song "A Lonely Night."
To help us all see the similarities, the U.K. songwriting team has even edited together "I Need to Love" and "A Lonely Night," and you can make up your own mind by checking out the comparison in the player below.
The songwriters claim that they wrote their song in 2004-2005 and then pitched it to various artists across the globe. The lawsuit claims that a division of Universal Music acquired the rights to their songs in 2008, but the trio were then told in 2016 that the major label was relinquishing all rights.
Soon after, though, the Weeknd released "A Lonely Night," and they are now accusing him and Belly of stealing their song.
The trio now want unspecified damages, in addition to $150,000 per infringement and forensic accounting to figure out how much they're owed.
