The Grammys have enlisted some changes that will allow more songs to be eligible for nomination.
Before now, songs that included samples or interpolations of another song were not eligible for songwriting awards.
But on Thursday, the organization announced on its website that songs with samples can now be nominated for all songwriting categories.
However, that doesn’t protect artists from being sued for copyright infringement.
According to RadarOnline, Kanye West has been slapped with an $800,000 lawsuit for allegedly sampling The Persuaders’ 1972 hit “Trying Girls Out (The Composition)” illegally.
Robert Pointdexter of the 1970s group, who filed the claim at the end of last month, has accused the rapper of using his work for the remix of Jay Z’s “Girls Girls Girls.”
The $800,000 is for punitive damages.
Our advice: Sample with caution!
