Lil Nas X Hit With $25 Million Copyright Infringement Lawsuit
Lil Nas X is trying to break the record for most weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 with “Old Town Road,” but now he has other things to worry about. Lil Nas X is being sued for $25 million for copyright infringement, stemming from a sample used on his track “Carry On.”
The lawsuit, aimed at Lil Nas X and Sony Music, claims that the rapper sampled an ’80s R&B song without permission, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The suit from a Culver City-based publisher, The Music Force, says that Lil Nas X “appropriated parts of” a song, also called “Carry On,” written by Bobby Caldwell.
Now, the publisher is looking for the court to rule that Lil Nas X’s “Carry On” is a joint work. They’re also looking for at least $10 million in damages to correct “confusion in the marketplace,” which The Music Force says allegedly destroyed the value of Caldwell’s original song. The publisher is also asking for at least $15 million in punitive damages.
Lil Nas X has since removed the video for “Carry On” from YouTube, which, according to court papers obtained by Entertainment Weekly, had racked up four million views before it was taken down. In court papers, the publisher claims there are still “over 85 new illegal versions on YouTube” still using the song. The track has also been removed from Soundcloud and Spotify.
Lil Nas X has yet to comment on the lawsuit.
