The Weeknd Sued For Allegedly Ripping Off "A Lonely Night" From U.K. Songwriters

BYChantilly Post5.1K Views
Link Copied to Clipboard!
Steven Ferdman/WireImage/Getty Images
Abel's got some copyright issues to deal with.

"A Loney Night" is the 12th track of The Weeknd's Grammy-winning album Starboy. While it's clearly a good song, three songwriters from the U.K. - Williams “Billy” Smith, Brian Clover and Scott McCulloch - are suing The Weeknd and Belly for all profits of the song they say The Weeknd took from them. 

The Blast reports that Abel's track is almost identical to their song, “I Need To Love." As their case goes, a division of Universal Music acquired the rights to their song in 2008 after pitching it to artists around the world but in 2018 the label relinquished all the rights. Weeks later, The Weeknd dropped off his album and the trio knew something was up. They are suing for unspecified damages including $150,000 per infringement and "forensic accounting to figure out just how much they’re owed." It's unclear as to how Belly plays a role in the lawsuit. 

The group even took it upon themselves to upload a video of both tracks playing side by side to prove the similarities. 

In other Weeknd news, the "Call Out My Name" singer recently announced that he's cooking up another project. While details on the tape are at a minimum, you can get a feel of his executive producing skills if you listen to Nav's new album


About The Author
...