Lizzo has been hit by a copyright infringement complaint over an unreleased track.
The About Damn Time hitmaker used a snippet of the song in question on a TikTok video over summer, and referenced Sydney Sweeney’s controversial American Eagle advert, singing: “B****, I got good jeans like I’m Sydney”.
Lizzo has been accused of sampling elements of the ’70s soul tune Win or Lose (We Tried) by Sam Dees in a new filing submitted on October 21 by Georgia-based rights holder GRC Trust.
Jimmy Ginn is listed as the publishing rights owner.
Although she hasn’t made any money from the track since it has not been released, the complainant argues that the 13-second preview on social media was enough exposure to make her liable.
The GRC Trust state that it attempted to come to an agreement with the Juice singer, but they “reached an impasse, necessitating the filing of this case”.
In response, Lizzo’s representatives said: “We are surprised that the GRC Trust filed this lawsuit. To be clear, the song has never been commercially released or monetised, and no decision has been made at this time regarding any future commercial release of the song.”
Meanwhile, Lizzo recently shared that she was “stressing out” over streaming algorithms amid fears her fans “don’t even know” she released new music.
Last month, the pop star released the mixtape My Face Hurts From Smiling – featuring 13 tracks and contributions from SZA and Doja Cat – but Lizzo confessed to being worried about the “shambles” of the music industry as her new recordings don’t seem to be reaching her fanbase.
In a post on TikTok, she explained: “The music industry is in complete shambles right now, and you can use that to your advantage … Back in the day, the music industry was very algorithmic, as any other industry was, but that industry was controlled to a certain extent.
“Now that we are in the digital streaming age, there is no control over the algorithm, and it is stressing people the f*** out. Myself included …
“Every major artist besides Beyonce has dropped music this year, or is planning to drop music this year.
“I just dropped the deluxe to my mixtape today. And yet, there are still people who don’t even know I dropped music.”
She went on to add: “Every major artist, from Lady Gaga to Drake, has dropped albums this year, and yet everyone is saying there’s no song of the summer.
“I’m going to be completely honest with you guys. It’s not because the music isn’t incredible. It’s because the way that the algorithm is set up, no one can serve the masses anymore.
“This industry used to be based on serving the masses, basically like servicing your song out to certain channels and certain radio stations.
“The internet space wasn’t so congested. There was a clear channel back in the day for major artists to put their music out and serve the masses.”
Lizzo added that TikTok’s For You page is great news for new artists but she fears more established stars are missing out.