Kanye West finalized a settlement with Donna Summer’s estate, which sued Ye for the unauthorized use of the late singer’s song “I Feel Love,” on Thursday (June 20). AllHipHop first reported on the two sides settling the dispute out of court in May.
The settlement blocked Kanye from using “I Feel Love” on his Vultures 1 album. Ye and Ty Dolla $ign sampled Summer’s track for the Vultures 1 cut “Good (Don’t Die).” The duo removed “Good (Don’t Die)” from the album after they were hit with a copyright infringement lawsuit.
“We did not license the song,” the Summer estate’s lawyer Larry Stein told Billboard. “As part of the settlement, they have agreed not to distribute or otherwise use the song. So we got what we wanted.”
According to the Summer estate’s lawsuit, Kanye and Ty Dolla $ign previously sought permission to sample “I Feel Love.” The estate denied the request, but Ye and Ty Dolla $ign sampled Summer’s song anyway.
“Summer’s estate … wanted no association with West’s controversial history and specifically rejected West’s proposed use of Summer’s ‘I Feel Love,’” the estate’s attorneys wrote. “In the face of this rejection, Defendants arrogantly and unilaterally decided they would simply steal ‘I Feel Love’ and use it without permission.”
The estate was seeking $150,000 for each act of infringement. The full terms of the settlement weren’t disclosed. Both sides agreed to cover their own legal bills.
Kanye and Ty Dolla $ign released Vultures 1 in February. The album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart. A sequel, Vultures 2, was supposed to drop in March. The duo delayed it indefinitely.
“We got all the songs,” Ty Dolla $ign said. “Basically, it’s just like, ‘How can we get it there? How can we go bigger than the first album?’”
Stream Vultures 1 below.
