Breaking News: Yellowcard Sues Rapper Juice WRLD for $15M Over Copyright Infringement
Written by Brighton Bischofberger
Massive news from the scene today as Pop Punk icons Yellowcard have filed an official complaint towards rapper Juice WRLD (Jared Higgins) through the U. S. District Court in California. Former members of the band (since YC is now defunct) William Ryan Key, Peter Michael Mosely, Longineu Warren Parsons, and Sean Michael Wellman-Mackin claim that Juice WRLD and his collaborators used “melodic elements” from their song ‘Holly Wood Died’ in the rapper’s 2018 smash hit ‘Lucid Dreams’ without their permission.
Now they’re taking action to the tune of $15M in damages and a “running royalty and/or ownership share” on all future exploitations in relation to the song. The lawsuit also stated that the defendants (Juice WRLD) would be liable to statutory damages “for each act of copyright infringement” and to be “permanently enjoined” from exploiting “Lucid Dreams” for the future. This includes not only damages for recording revenue, but touring revenue/public appearances as well.
The Plaintiffs Complaint notes that there are number of common elements including hooks, vocal melodies and a distinct “melodic idiosyncrasy” which appears in a parallel position for both tracks.
Yellowcards Attorney Richard Busch issued this following statement about the lawsuit:
“This was not a lawsuit the guys wanted to file. They put all of the parties on notice a long while ago and gave them every opportunity to try to resolve it. That notice was pretty much ignored leaving them with no real choice. As alleged in the Complaint, this is not just a generic Emo Rap song, but is a blatant copy of significant original compositional elements of Holly Wood Died in several respects. Beyond that, everything we have to say is in the Complaint.”
Juice WRLD has been commonly tied to the Pop Punk/Emo genre as many consider him one of the pioneers of the sub-genre Emo Rap. He has publicly stated his love of the genre through interviews and notes that much of his introduction to rock music came from the Guitar Hero and Tony Hawk Pro Skater video game series as well as popular scene bands like Fall Out Boy, Panic! At the Disco, and Senses Fail.
‘Lucid Dreams’ has notched over 381 Million views on YouTube and over 939 Million streams on Spotify. It hit No.2 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts and has been certified 5x multi-platinum by the RIAA.
Juice WRLD and his respective parties have not issued a response as of yet, but this story will be one to follow as more details come to light.
You can read more details about the lawsuit here.
You can also hear both tracks below:
Yellowcard - Holly Wood Dies
[youtube=://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FcYDWUnnwRM&w=640&h=480]
Juice WRLD - Lucid Dream
[youtube=://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzB1VGEGcSU&w=854&h=480]