Lizzo Sued for Copyright Infringement

Lizzo is being sued by Georgia-based company The GRC Trust over the use of an uncleared sample.

The song:

• In August, Lizzo shared a snippet of an unreleased song called “I’m Goin’ In Till October” on social media.

• It sampled the track “Win or Lose (We Tried),” which is represented for publishing by The GRC Trust.

• As per Variety, plaintiff Jimmy Ginn is listed as the owner of the publishing rights in BMI’s database.

• Sam Dees is listed as composer.

The complaint:

• In their complaint, GRC’s lawyers state that Lizzo and her label, Atlantic, “obtained profits they would not have realized but for their infringement of GRC’s rights.”

• They claim they requested an “informal resolution... but reached an impasse,” leading to the lawsuit.

• They are seeking the profits Lizzo and Atlantic made, in addition to damages and attorneys’ fees.

Other suits:

• The GRC Trust is also suing Kanye West, his company Yeezy, the company Kano and the rapper Vory in a separate case of alleged copyright infringement.

• A hearing is scheduled for November 19.

What they said:

• Lizzo’s representatives, to the BBC: “We are surprised that The GRC Trust filed this lawsuit. To be clear, the song has never been commercially released or monetized.”