Lil Wayne has permanently removed the song “Playing With Fire” [click to read] from both his album, Tha Carter III [click to read] and all digital-download services after settling a lawsuit with the owner of the Rolling Stones‘ music catalogue.
Last year, Abkco Music Inc. sued Wayne, Cash Money/Universal and the song’s producer, Nicholas “StreetRunner” Warwar for copyright breach [click to read]. Abkco initially granted Wayne permission to sample and/or interpolate the original “Playing With Fire,” but later relented upon deeming the newer version “explicit, sexist and offensive.” After the song ended up on Tha Carter III anyway, the lawsuit was filed.
Donald S. Passman, a lawyer and author of the popular book All You Need to Know About the Music Business, tells the Wall Street Journal that the winning plaintiff usually collects publishing royalties and/or financial damages in these situations, as opposed to removing the song from the work in question. A similar situation happened in 2006, when The Ohio Players were awarded $4 million in compensatory fees. The group contended that the Notorious B.I.G. song “Ready to Die” contained an unlicensed sample of “Singing in the Morning.” The album Ready to Die [click to read] was pulled off shelves 12 years after its initial release until the case was settled.
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“The lawsuit was not about money,” said Abkco president Jody Klein. “It was about protecting the written works of our songwriters.”
Currently Cash Money Records and the Rolling Stones‘ recordings, which are released on Virgin Records, are both distributed by the same company, Vivendi SA‘s Universal Music Group.
