Yung Gravy and Rick Astley.Photo:Greg Doherty/Getty; Jeff Spicer/Getty
Greg Doherty/Getty; Jeff Spicer/Getty
The battle betweenRick AstleyandYung Gravyis over.
Gravy filed a notice of settlement, while Astley filed a notice of dismissal in his copyright infringement suit with an order to show cause hearing set for Nov. 8.
The lawsuit, which was originally filed in January in Los Angeles, claimed Gravy used “a deliberate and nearly indistinguishable imitation” of his voice in his song “Betty (Get Money).”
“The public could not tell the difference. The imitation of Mr. Astley’s voice was so successful the public believed it was actually Mr. Astley singing,” the lawsuit read, which also claimed the singer’s voice was used “In an effort to capitalize off of the immense popularity and goodwill of Mr. Astley.”
Also included in the lawsuit was the voice impersonator, Nick Seeley (aka Popnick).
“A license to use the original underlying musical composition does not authorize the stealing of the artist’s voice in the original recording,” Astley’s lawyers wrote. “So, instead, they resorted to theft of Mr. Astley’s voice without a license and without agreement.”
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Astley has cited an August 2022 interview Gravy gave toBillboardwhere the rapper said, “My boy Nick, who does a lot of sample replays and recreating original samples, we basicallyremade the whole song. Had a different singer and instruments, but it was all really close because it makes it easier legally.”
The filing also stated that Astley had wanted to use his voice to collaborate with another artist on a future project, but the release of the Gravy’s track made it impossible.
The suit also explained that Astley’s distinctive voice is a resource that needs to be carefully managed, and he never granted permission to use or impersonate his voice.
Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up” topped the charts, while “Betty” (Get Money" reached gold status in the U.S.
source: people.com
