Kanye West and Ty Dolla $ign have settled their lawsuit with Donna Summer’s estate. The lawsuit was over the unauthorized use of her iconic song “I Feel Love.” The track was sampled in their song “Good (Don’t Die)” from the album Vultures 1, leading to accusations of copyright infringement from the late singer’s estate. The lawsuit has now been resolved through a confidential settlement, and the case has been dismissed with prejudice.
The settlement discussions had been ongoing for several months, during which time the song was removed from streaming platforms. It remains unclear if the settlement will allow the song to return to services like Spotify. According to the lawsuit, Kanye West initially sought permission to sample “I Feel Love,”. His request was denied by Summer’s estate and Universal Music Group. Court documents indicate that West then attempted to bypass the rejection. He tried using an interpolation instead of a direct sample, which the estate still considered copyright infringement.
Neither Kanye West nor Ty Dolla $ign have made public statements regarding the lawsuit. After the release of Vultures 1, Donna Summer’s estate issued a statement addressing the unauthorized use: “Kanye West asked permission to use Donna Summer song, ‘I Feel Love,’ [but] he was denied. He changed the words, had someone re-sing it, or used AI but it’s ‘I Feel Love’…copyright infringement!”
This is not the first time Kanye West has faced sample-related issues with Vultures 1. Ozzy Osbourne criticized West for using a sample of Black Sabbath’s “Iron Man” without permission. In an Instagram post, Osbourne stated: “@KANYEWEST ASKED PERMISSION TO SAMPLE A SECTION OF A 1983 LIVE PERFORMANCE OF “IRON MAN” FROM THE US FESTIVAL WITHOUT VOCALS & WAS REFUSED PERMISSION BECAUSE HE IS AN ANTISEMITE AND HAS CAUSED UNTOLD HEARTACHE TO MANY. HE WENT AHEAD AND USED THE SAMPLE ANYWAY AT HIS ALBUM LISTENING PARTY LAST NIGHT. I WANT NO ASSOCIATION WITH THIS MAN.” Subsequently, West replaced the original “Iron Man” sample. He used an interpolation from his track “Hell of a Life” from My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. This had cleared the use of the iconic rock song. Additionally, West reportedly failed to obtain permission to sample the Backstreet Boys’ song “Everybody (Backstreet’s Back).”