In the past couple weeks, there has been a lot of talk regarding Will.i.am blatently ripping off several original tracks by producers such as Arty and Mat Zo. In a recently aired interview with Kiss FM, Will.i.am attempted to “clear things up” with Arty and Mat Zo with the following comments:
“Arty is a dope producer so I wrote this song to Rebound this last year.
“I got in touch with Arty and showed it to him, did a different version to it because I asked him [to] make it newer because I don’t just want to take your song and rap over it.
“We preferred writing over and using the [original] Rebound. Something happened and the clearance…hopefully, we resolved the issue.”
“It’s sad that it’s turned into a fiasco but hopefully it’s resolved, because I’m a fan of those guys. I contacted them last year and we’re fixing it now.”
We aren’t yet sure how Arty and Mat Zo will respond to Will.i.am‘s “apology”, but I’m sure everyone is eager to hear after the huge fuss it has caused since Will.i.am‘s album release.
UPDATE: While Arty’s statement was made just a few days prior to this interview, we would like to share it as it can lead to question a variety of points Will.i.am seems to bring up as defense:
I want to clarify the whole situation around “Rebound” once and for all.
First, I would like to share the same sentiments as Mat and thank our fans for all the support they’ve shown. However the fact remains that Will.I.Am has used our music in his new album #willpower, specifically our track “Rebound” which was came out on Anjunabeats, with no clearance or agreement from ourselves.Although my name was ILLEGALY putted on #willpower album credits, without my knowledge – I was never contacted or consulted by Interscope Records, and never signed any license agreements, considering the fact that “Rebound” was made in collaboration with Mat Zo, not only by me.
The matter is under review by our legal teams now and I will keep you updated
Read a summary of the whole ordeal, including Mat Zo’s response to the theft: HERE
Source: The Sun
Ladroon!!
Ladroon!!
Will i.Am is clearly a pathetically shit producer who should learn what white noise is, and he should also get a better mastering engineer…
I hope they don’t let him use it. He utterly massacres music!
Because you are such an expert and famous producer right?
Because you are such an expert and famous producer right?
Still a better one than stealing Willy. 😛
Still a better one than stealing Willy. 😛
Bentley, you don’t have to be a famous producer to hear the flaws. Most people who have put a year or 2 into producing can tell you this is bad work on the production and mastering level.
Bentley, you don’t have to be a famous producer to hear the flaws. Most people who have put a year or 2 into producing can tell you this is bad work on the production and mastering level.
And you are ?
There’s no technical knowledge requirement to know how garbage will.i.am turned this track into, lol
Will.i.am doesn’t produce his songs guys. it’s some guy at his record label who got lazy and decided “hey let’s just find an instrumental track and save a lot of money”. Plus, this whole thing is a lie. Will.i.am recently tweeted asking “Who’s Mat zo?” Really? You really like arty and ‘loved’ that track but you don’t know who mat zo is? This is all pr trying to cover it up. It’s not just will.i.am behind this. It’s an entire business. This is what people are talking about when they say the music industry is seriously in trouble. I can sued for playing a song on my radio show and not announcing what song it is, but they can get away with directly profitting off of other people’s work. Lame.
Yeah I heard about this last week. Its beyond ridiculous that will.i.am could even get away with releasing that in the first place under a copyright. Unbelievable. I say Mat Zo and Arty bankrupt the company and will.i.am
it was Chris Brown who tweeted that
http://i.imgur.com/nGG0aol.png
then again, that could be Vevo talking. not will.i.am. see how convoluted this all gets?
@[679577424:2048:Konrad Kordylasinski] there’s no way Anjunabeats is going to bankrupt Interscope.
will came to them asking if he could use the track an they said NO but he went ahead and used it anyway. that is why they were so mad because they had already expressed their intentions… they dont want to take their music in the will i am direction.
Bentley Simon Barnes It’s not about being famous or being an expert, it’s about respecting artists and not stealing from them.
Bentley Simon Barnes It’s not about being famous or being an expert, it’s about respecting artists and not stealing from them.
Bentley Simon Barnes Auto tune…’nuff said.
The will.i.am version yes, the Arty & Mat Zo version’s actually really good.
this is so pathetic 😀 -.-
Because you are shut up right?
fucking pathetic , I hope they destroy will.i.am.
Whats new, big names always rip of the little guys, especially these genre jumping gimps.
says the guy that works at woolworths… hmmm…
” so I wrote this song to Rebound this last year”. <–doesn't make sense. You either remix or mash it or pay the artist/label to use it.
“ It’s sad that it’s turned into a fiasco" <— meaning you thought EDM folks are idiots and won't care or find out anyways.
" I contacted them last year and we’re fixing it now.” <—-what does this mean? THE FUNNY THING IS HE PROBABLY LOST SOME FANS AND ARTY & MAT ZO GAINED SOME, SINCE THIS "FIASCO" REBOUND IS BACK ON THE TOP100 CHART FOR TRANCE ON BEATPORT WHICH I AM VERY HAPPY TO SEE. ((((((( FUCK WILL.I.AM )))))))
At least Pitbull met up and worked with TJR on “Don’t stop the party”.. Even with it being originally produced as “Funky Vodka”, they sat down like real business men do, and found an excellent compromise. If only these “Mega” labels believed in good ethics. No one should be above the law, or willing to steal from a fellow human being, especially in an artistic sense. Its so disrespectful.
Thief.I.Am
Thief.I.Am
play them both at the same time.
Will.U.Die
Ah qué a toda madre no? Ahora sí se discupa, total los millones ya ahí están porque ya salió el álbum. R-A-T-E-R-O!
Deniz Koyu – Tung (Original) —-> http://youtu.be/2LBX3h3uzbU.
FAKE —> http://youtu.be/GwTyMF4k2U0.
Sandro & Quintino – Epic (Original) –>http://youtu.be/irfSOiH1_Ns.
FAKE —> http://youtu.be/VHGeLhi0VOg.
Arty & Mat Zo – Rebound (Original) -> http://youtu.be/DXQhVmnNmxk.
FAKE —> http://youtu.be/lV6W6_PUj0E.
Arty – Kate (Original) -> http://youtu.be/NUkT2LrcGyc.
FAKE —> http://youtu.be/vHBBBJ0RWRI.
Nobody knows the full story, so stop claiming that they said “NO”. You make it sound like you were on the phone with them.
Its a pretty poor admission if you ask me. But due to the case, he’s probably not allowed by attourneys to say anything. Still, Mat and Arty will be well compensated. If they aren’t, it just shows that stealing pays off. Let’s hope the justice system makes this a very big example, to stop some future ripsters and make them think before they sample, or completely re-use the whole masterproduction and call it their own… I actually liked Scream & Shout, but now I’m starting to wonder if he stole that as well….
Too damn right
As a trance producer this is a shame.
You admitted to actually liking Scream and Shout! I too liked the track when I fist heard it but I was and would still yearn for a more proper phat bassline on that song!!! People should start ripping him off and lets how he likes it….lol
rappers…..stealin’ shit they didn’t write for over 20 years….tweakin’ a sample (with permission) is one thing, taking an entire track and thinkin’ your super dope! ummm NO!
Nicky Romero steals you Symphonica! :O Just Kidding 😛
Don’t worry he is not an artist he is a robber.we can’t expect more from him bro 😉
daniel man, he did steal scream and shout LOL
Damn that’s heinous! I respect how he flipped it, but he disrespected Arty and Mat Zo. He can afford to get the sample (segment) cleared. I could understand if he was selling cds out of his trunk, but damn.
lol… tsk tsk… these are the same kind of people… that when they were kids, thought stealing candy from the store was ok…. Will.i.steal I hope you learn from this lesson. The EDM scene is not small! you cannot go and steal “sample” whole pieces of a track without noone noticing. freaking idiot.
Will.I.Am has stolen a lot from other songs over the years, so I highly doubt he is going to stop. What needs to be done is someone needs to sue him and have it go to trial, instead of settling out of court for much less, which is what has been happening most of the time. I’m talking tens of millions of dollars worth in damages, then maybe, Will.I.Am will realize the real implications of his actions. Also, Will.I.Am, due to his admittance of this, needs to be banned from receiving any awards for the rest of his career, not that it would matter, but it would send a clear message to everyone NOT TO DO THIS SHIT ANYMORE.
Scream & Shout was actually and officially produced by Lazy Jay aka Basto for Will.I.Am so no stealing there.
Where’s the love yo’?
Stealing does pay off. Even though he will pay arty and mat zo he will still make more money off the track so it will be positive return. Its a business move that worked out very well in his favor
Great example as to why the mainstream industry is pure garbage. : D
Also, another thing that can be seen from this is that since Will.I.Am’s trash has become so popular, and he steals from EDM artists, EDM has officially taken over. This is the EDM era now. I just hope the major labels can keep true to the culture before it got popular, because that’s what made this scene so great in the first place.
Kontor and Spinnin’ have been going way down the drain, but there’s still legit EDM labels out there. *Cough* Toolroom *Cough*.
They’ve (Arty/Mat Zo) clearly declined if you’ve read any of the articles or responses from them.
Yeah i gotta agree with you there.
This is what Arty has to say about this.
I want to clarify the whole situation around “Rebound” once and for all. First, I would like to share the same sentiments as Mat and thank our fans for all the support they’ve shown. However the fact remains that Will.I.Am has used our music in his new album #willpower, specifically our track “Rebound” which was came out on Anjunabeats, with no clearance or agreement from ourselves.
Although my name was ILLEGALY putted on #willpower album credits, without my knowledge – I was never contacted or consulted by Interscope Records, and never signed any license agreements, considering the fact that “Rebound” was made in collaboration with Mat Zo, not only by me.
The matter is under review by our legal teams now and I will keep you updated.
https://www.facebook.com/artyofficial
Both songs suck…why does it matter? All that music is fucking garbage.
Agreed.
This will I am shit actually makes me want to throw up.. It’s soo bad! And I’ve always thought it! But to rip the shit of arty and may zo … I’m actually ready to lose my shit! u.u
publicity! 😀 nice move Anjuna :p
Rebound is in my top 10 of all time trance/trouse songs. It’s simply amazing..
Rebound is in my top 10 of all time trance/trouse songs. It’s simply amazing..
Holy shit I wasn’t so sure re Kate vs. #thatPOWER, and then it suddenly hit me it’s actually there, warped a bit and quiet but there!
Listen to the synth in the bg to Justin’s singing:
http://youtu.be/vHBBBJ0RWRI?t=1m41s
Now listen to the chord progression in Arty’s Kate:
http://youtu.be/NUkT2LrcGyc?t=1m15s
Let’s Go (To Court) feat. Woman Beater – sample.i.can
Its simply not right, big disrespect to will.i.am after this, just learn how to make your own music man…. pfff
He’s a disgrace to the term music, he’s not a musician, he’s an egotist.
Will should contact label (which owns all copyrights) instead of producers.
«Let’s Go» sucks as well as «Rebound».
Извини, но мне кажется на западе, да и у нас тоже все думают примерно так: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyA_1TfHWRc . Устроили из этого нехилый такой пиар. Не удивлюсь, если Мэт или Тёмыч пишут треки этому Уилл ай эму…
уверен на 90% что это пиар ))) поживём-увидим
It doesn’t take a genius to hear the standard of quality/talent that Will produced this track with. The kick hasn’t been perfected at all (sounds like it’s been flooded with some free EQ VST or something)! The vocals don’t compliment the music and sound way too loud for the track – Sandwiched between the Mat & Arty original and some default Ableton reverb! Yet the ignorant general public will spend their money downloading it and I bet it’s in the +40 somewhere! What’s funny is that Will tried to put his own stamp on it by creating his own bridge/drop which sounds like Steve Aoki with a yeast infection! Thief.I.Am needs to reevaluate his morals and production skills!
this is soooo not true,
will asked them for permission and they gave it to him, but yes they had an arguement and since then Mat & Arty want to get him down.. The same for the issue about Boom Boom Pow and Boom Dynamite > only the word Boom was enough to get people hatin’ on him ‘cuz it was sampled’ A FUCKING WORD o___O are u nuts? , or Party All The Time & Mancry > mancry came out a YEAR after Party All The Time (!) so if u can blame someone bout that ( for real I don’t care IF adam stole it from BEP, cuz I love BEP forever and I don’t care if someone sample something from them, cuz its music I’m not a hater!, but for real adam stole it from them. But still I don’t care, if someones use it I’m not going to make myself angry bout that. but I’m getting angry cuz they think BEP stole it while that’s not..
go will we (the fans) love u forever get them off your back!