Over the past 15 years, Eminem has become one of the greatest rappers of all time. Eminem’s career spans across many albums, most of which have received universal acclaim. Many Eminem fans were surprised when he announced he was going to act in a film called 8 Mile. This film would receive praise for Eminem’s acting chops and the title song, Lose Yourself. Recently, the National Party used a song for one of their recent ads that Eminem felt sounded a little too familiar.
Eminem first filed his lawsuit against the National Party in September 2014. This lawsuit was filed after an advertisement was created by the National Party with background music that Eminem felt copied his song, Lose Yourself. The court would find that that the title of the National Party’s track was titled “Eminem Esque.” The High Court felt that the title combined with the actual song were indicative of a copyright infringement. Based on the High Court’s ruling, Eminem has won and will be receiving $600,000 for his victory. The Guardian reports that the National Party’s ill-fated advertisement aired 186 times in 2014.
Many in the world of music feel that Eminem’s recent court case is a huge win in the battle against soundalike music producers. Soundalike producers will attempt to copy a majority of an already copyrighted song while changing a small part of the melody. These producers try to skirt copyright laws by not creating an exact duplicate of their source material. However, the ruling in Eminem’s recent case could spell disaster for the future of soundalike producing.
In summary, New Zealand’s High Court has announced that Eminem will be receiving compensation from a previously filed copyright infringement lawsuit. Eminem felt that a 2014 advertisement used by the National Party was far too close to his hit song Lose Yourself. Many in the music industry feel that Eminem’s win is a major victory against soundalike music production companies.
