THE BIG STORY: They say all press is good press. They say that, right? Well, Stella Lefty is currently testing the absolute limits of the theory.
Amid a meteoric rise, the country singer is the talk of the music industry. That’s partly because her viral breakout “Boston” is currently sitting at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 after 23 total weeks on the chart. But it’s also partly because large segments of the internet thinks she copied her way to the top.
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“Boston” has a songwriting credit for Noah Kahan, owing to its similarities to his own megahit “Stick Season.” Another track, “Summer You Were Mine,” is an interpolation of The Chicks’ 1998 hit “There’s Your Trouble.” And three more Stella songs have drawn plagiarism hackles on social media.
Songs that sound similar are hardly a new phenomenon in the music industry, especially in pop and country, and such overlap is rarely the result of outright theft. And industry experts say the Stella situation is basically no different — similar sounds, but likely not infringement.
And yet, here we are. The Washington Post called the criticism of Lefty “some of the most intense online vitriol in recent memory.” Rolling Stone said the internet is “tearing Stella Lefty apart.” So sure, this stuff happens a lot — but rarely does everyone get this mad about it.
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Other top stories this week…
— Lil Durk was acquitted on all charges over an alleged murder-for-hire plot to kill rival Quando Rondo. It was a big win for the rapper, but he’s still facing another trial next month on racketeering charges.
— Cyril Vetter, the songwriter who won a landmark ruling on copyright termination, urged the Supreme Court to reject efforts by major music companies to overturn it, telling the justices there is no “emergency” and that publishers are “doing just fine.”
— Macklemore was fired from Ed Sheeran’s tour for making pro-Palestine statements on stage, sparking controversy and an exodus of all of Sheeran’s other supporting acts. It’s not a legal story (for now, at least), but raises many questions about the contracts that papered the tour.
— Universal Music Group filed a scathing lawsuit against DistroKid, accusing the huge DIY distributor of flooding streamers with “AI-generated slop” and “polluting the listening experience.”
— AI music firm Suno rolled out a new model created in “partnership” with Warner Music Group and other music companies. What exactly does that mean? It depends on who you ask.
— Bruce Springsteen won a ruling at a New Jersey appeals court ending a second attempt to sue him over the appearance of a local man’s 1967 Pontiac GTO on a 2022 album cover.
— Lady Gaga asked to be repaid nearly $250,000 she spent beating a lawsuit over her Mayhem album from a Mayhem surfboard brand — calling the case a “publicity stunt.”
— D4vd was hit with a civil lawsuit from the parents of murdered teenager Celeste Rivas, adding to the criminal charges he’s already facing. Notably, the case also named his managers as defendants, claiming they enabled the star’s alleged abuse of the girl.
— Samsung’s attorneys told a federal judge that Dua Lipa cannot sue the Korean electronics giant for using her face on millions of TV boxes without her permission.
— Selena’s brother, A.B. Quintanilla III, made good on public threats and formally sued his sister, Suzette Quintanilla Arriaga, over profits from the late Tejano star’s music.
— Kodak Black won the dismissal of a felony charge of fleeing law enforcement after his lawyers argued bodycam footage showed he drove away slowly after a traffic stop ended.
— An appeals court ruled that Jay-Z cannot sue personal injury attorney Tony Buzbee for extortion or defamation over a quickly-dropped lawsuit accusing the star of raping a 13-year-old girl.
— Jamaican dancehall star Shabba Ranks launched a lawsuit over his publishing rights — including to the 1990 song “Dem Bow” at the heart of the massive case over reggaetón’s dembow rhythm.
— A Sri Lankan concert promoter filed a lawsuit that claims Ne-Yo is refusing to return his advance after dropping out of a show in the South Asian country.
— A former management executive claimed in a new lawsuit that the rapper N.O.R.E. sexually assaulted her during an album promotion event in 1999.
— Kid Cudi argued M.I.A. cannot sue him for firing her from his Rebel Rangers Tour over politically-charged statements, citing his First Amendment right to choose the “content of his own concert tour.”