We do thoroughly enjoy it at Ears To The House when someone or something displays a remarkable lack of self-awareness. This is something which is in plentiful supply in dance music, and keeps us busy writing on even the quietest days of the year.
Whether it’s DJs who travel around the world in private jets whilst lecturing the rest of us about climate change or DJs happy to travel to countries they seemingly hate to collect a pay cheque, there are plenty of them around. And today, we can remind everyone of Trax Records’ position on the pile – one they joined in 1985 and never got off.
They’ve been posting on social media this week about Kanye West’s latest legal troubles – they never seem to end. This one involves an allegation Marshall Jefferson’s “Move Your Body” was illegally sampled by West on an album – the case was brought by Ultra International Music Publishing and is ongoing.
Trax were keen to highlight a portion of a report by Music Business Worldwide on the subject…
We have no idea if the $1.65billion figure is accurate – copyright infringement cases can be expensive, but none of us is aware of a case which ended up being that pricey. But would this be the same Trax Records talking here who are currently in the middle of a court case against Larry Heard and Robert Owens citing decades worth of unpaid royalties?
Our last update on the case was in August 2021 after Trax tried to get almost the entire suit thrown out – Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman responded by dismissing several parts of the suit without prejudice, meaning they could be brought back later if Heard and Owens succeeded in the remainder of the case.
The case remains ongoing at the time of writing – so Trax might wish to keep their thoughts to themselves on other legal actions in the meantime…
