Dua Lipa sued by 'talk box' musician in
latest 'Levitating' lawsuit
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[August 02, 2023]
By Blake Brittain
(Reuters) - Dua Lipa is facing a new federal lawsuit in Los Angeles from
musician Bosko Kante, who claims the British pop star and her label
Warner Music Group never received his permission to include his "talk
box" recording in remixes of her song "Levitating."
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Dua Lipa poses at the Met Gala, an annual
fundraising gala held for the benefit of the Metropolitan Museum of
Art's Costume Institute with this year's theme "Karl Lagerfeld: A Line
of Beauty", in New York City, New York, U.S., May 1, 2023.
REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/File Photo |
Kante said in the lawsuit that the use of his performance on
three remixes of Lipa's hit song infringed his copyright, citing
an oral agreement that the part Kante created with his wearable
electronic device be used only in the song's original recording.
The lawsuit filed on Monday said Kante is entitled to more than
$20 million in profit from the infringing music.
Representatives for Kante, Lipa and WMG did not immediately
respond to requests for comment on Tuesday.
Lipa has already faced two other copyright lawsuits over
"Levitating." A court complaint from reggae group Artikal Sound
System was dismissed in June. A separate lawsuit by songwriters
Sandy Linzer and L. Russell Brown is ongoing.
Kante created the ElectroSpit Talk Box, a device worn around the
neck and wired to a phone or synthesizer that can make a user's
vocal vibrations sound like musical instruments. Kante's website
said he has played the Talk Box on songs by musicians including
rappers Kanye West, Big Boi and J. Cole.
The lawsuit said producer Stephen Kozmeniuk approached Kante in
2019 about creating a talk-box track to use on "Levitating."
Kante said they verbally agreed to a license stipulating that
his recording would only appear on the original track and could
not be sampled or reused.
"Levitating" was released on Dua Lipa's hit 2020 album "Future
Nostalgia." The song spent 77 weeks on Billboard's Hot 100 U.S.
singles chart, peaking at No. 2 in 2021.
Kante's complaint said Lipa reused his work without permission
on three "Levitating" remixes - one by DJ The Blessed Madonna
featuring pop star Madonna and rapper Missy Elliott, a second
featuring rapper DaBaby, and a third that Lipa performed at the
American Music Awards.
(Reporting by Blake Brittain in Washington; Editing by David
Bario and Richard Chang)
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