Copyright is becoming a scary force in the music industry. As much as its always been around, things have been tightening in recent years, pushing things to the brink with the Marvin Gaye estate's victory over Pharrell and Robin Thicke in the "Blurred Lines" suit.
Mixtapes were once a safe place from this kind of shenanigans, but as the internet becomes a more restricted place, they've too been targeted in these type of suits.
Mac Miller's "Therapy," which appeared on his 2014 tape, Faces, has been hit with a copyright claim from 70s funk band Aquarian Dream to the the tune of $150,000. The band, whose song "Yesterday (Was So Nice Today)" was sampled in the track, says they reached out to Mac's team, who then confirmed that they had attempted to make contact with the band about the use, but went ahead with it after receiving no reply.
Seeing as "Therapy" is not a commercial track, we're confused as to why any clearance would be needed, but judging by recent events, they may have a case. This isn't actually the first time mac has been approached about a mixtape track, being sued by Lord Finesse over a sample on a free song a few years back.
Listen to the two tracks below.
[via]