One of electronic music's most mysterious figures is suing Nicki Minaj for copyright infringement. Clive Tanaka – an artist who has never revealed his real name nor his home town – accused Minaj of copying his music on her worldwide hit Starships.
Attorney Christopher Niro submitted the lawsuit on Tuesday, filing on behalf of Tanaka Light Industries USA. According to the Chicago Tribune, these documents indicated that Tanaka is a US citizen born in 1976, with a business address on Chicago's West Side. "From what I was told," Niro said, Tanaka is currently working in Argentina. "He's kind of a reclusive – he makes and produces music and that's his goal."
Though Tanaka may be a recluse, he still heard Starships. The song was one of 2012's biggest hits, selling more than 7m copies and reaching the top five chart in more than a dozen countries (albeit not in Argentina). Within six months of the release of Minaj's single, Tanaka had noted the similarity between it and his 2010 track Neu Chicago. He posted the two as a mash-up in August 2012, asking his fans, "Neu starships?"
Tanaka's lawsuit accuses Minaj, producer RedOne and songwriters Carl Falk, Wayne Hector and Rami Yacoub of copying "substantial portions" of Neu Chicago. Although his hazy dance track wasn't exactly an international smash, it wasn't ignored, either: almost 100,000 people listened on YouTube, and Niro claims the song was licensed for two major Scandinavian television commercials. RedOne, Falk and Yacoub have all lived in Sweden. "They had a very good opportunity to hear it," Niro said.
"We believe [the songs] are similar to the point that it is nearly impossible for it to be a coincidence," Niro said. In addition to damages for Starships' negative impact on Tanaka's "professional reputation and goodwill", the artist is demanding all profits the defendants have collected from the single's broadcast and sale.
Neu Chicago was taken from Tanaka's debut (and only) album, Jet Set Siempre No 1. Despite rumours that he lives in at least three different places – Japan, South America and the US – Tanaka has never performed live. He is currently "working on a new album and screenplay".
theguardian.com © 2013 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
No comments:
Post a Comment