Anjunabeats Files Lawsuit Against Will.I.Am

Today, Anjunabeats released a statement today, found on their Facebook page, in regards to filing a lawsuit against American pop star Will.I.Am, accusing him of infringing upon their copyright of the 2011 song “Rebound” by Arty & Mat Zo in his song with Chris Brown entitled “Let’s Go”.

Considering Will.I.Am’s recent admission that he did in fact use the song to create “Let’s Go”, assuming that his label would take care of the legal issues, Anjunabeats will take it upon themselves to see legal action. The official statement is below:

Anjunabeats is the record label behind Arty and Mat Zo and owns the master recording rights to their collaboration “Rebound.” Mat Zo and Arty have been important members of the Anjunabeats family for a number of years and “Rebound” was one of the label’s most popular releases in 2011.

As has been widely reported, a large section of “Rebound” was sampled on Will.i.am’s track “Let’s Go featuring Chris Brown” and this took place without the permission of Anjunabeats or Arty & Mat Zo. 

Although Arty (but not Mat Zo) was credited in the sleeve notes, this is not the same as obtaining permission. To present someone else’s work as your own, you need to seek permission, agree terms and file paperwork, which has not happened in this case. 

We’ve remained silent on this issue until now but as a record label it is our obligation to protect our artists’ interests and we felt it was necessary to respond to some of the inaccuracies that have been reported following Will.i.am’s recent comments to Associated Press.

Be sure to check back for any updates on this story as they are revealed.