Copyright is a big issue that all artists should pay attention to and take seriously.
Zimbabwean gospel singer, Charles Charamba, got Jah Signal’s 2018 hit, Sweetie, which had more than 6 million views on YouTube taken down.
As you can hear from the attached video, Jah Signal copied Charamba’s 2001 song, Kana Vanhu Vangu.
Without express authority, it comes down to violation of copyright, in fact Jah Signal who is immensely talented is lucky that Charamba has not sued him.
Some have said that what really pissed off Charamba was how his gospel song was turned around into a song with raunchy lyrics.
In Jamaica, 1980s dancehall star, Flourgon got millions when Miley Cyrus sampled his 1980s hit song, We Run Things.
She only sampled a line from Flourgon’s song in her hit song, We Can't Stop, but she paid millions when Flourgon heard the song and went after her.
For taking the line, “We run things, things don't run we,” she was sued and had to settle.
It is important for artists to obtain proper authorisation or licensing when using other artists’ work to avoid potential lawsuits and serious financial repercussions, or as happened in this case, a YouTube take down!
