Top 10 Most Infamous Legal Battles In Music

 
Back in the day, a summer blockbuster needed a catchy theme and Ghostbusters was no exception. In the span of three days, Ray Parker. Jr. wrote the iconic song that would go on to be as recognizable as the film itself. Everything was going great until Huey Lewis noticed a few similarities to his hit track "I Want A New Drug" released 5 months prior and sued Columbia Pictures and Ray Parker Jr. They settled out of court and signed a confidentiality agreement, but when Huey Lewis broke the agreement during an episode of VH1's Behind the Music, Parker returned the favor by suing for breach of confidentiality.
 
 
 

 
In this case… the lawsuit was arguably the most civilized part of this beef. Due to their successful debut album "Straight Outta Compton," N.W.A became known as the godfathers of gangster rap. Unfortunately, in-fighting and disagreements over royalties quickly split the group apart, leading to Ice Cube and Dr. Dre's departure. After Suge Knight paid Eazy-E a “visit”, the latter agreed to release Dr. Dre from his contract, and then proceeded to file a racketeering lawsuit against the producer and Death Row Records. The complaint was eventually dropped, although Eazy-E and Dr. Dre retaliated with a couple of truly memorable diss tracks.
 
  
 

Are we sure "Ice Ice Baby" was not just an elaborate joke? It sure feels like it. Vanilla Ice's pop-rap song hit the scene in the early '90s and reached the top position on the US Billboard Hot 100. Besides the catchy chorus, "Ice Ice Baby" also boasted an infectious melody that was eerily similar to Queen and David Bowie's “Under Pressure.” The rapper tried to wave away the plagiarism claims by pointing out that he added an extra beat to the melody, but the legendary rockers were not having it. After settling out of court, Queen and Bowie received writing credits and an unspecified payment.
 
 

Whether Pink Floyd was a spent force or not, by 1987, Roger Waters had no say in the band's direction. The influential progressive rock band was torn apart due to creative differences, prompting Waters to leave the band. Their problems were only getting started however, as with his departure, Waters intended for that to be the end of the band, and subsequently took the other members to court in an attempt to dissolve the band or block their continued use of the name. As Waters did not have a leg to stand on, the case was settled out of court; and, a couple of years later, Pink Floyd went on to release new material.
 
  

Okay, this one is pretty complicated. For their smash hit "Bitter Sweet Symphony," The Verve reached an agreement with the Rolling Stones to sample a six-note segment of a symphonic version of the legendary rock band's song "The Last Time." Unfortunately, Richard Ashcroft's group went over the agreed limit and were sued by ABKCO Records, who ended up winning all royalties and publishing rights associated with the hit song. Mick Jagger and Keith Richards were even named on Bitter Sweet Symphony’s ballot when it was nominated for a Grammy, while the orchestra arranger David Whitaker didn’t even recieve a single credit. Ouch.
 
 

A battle that lasted nearly half-a-century! In 1969, John Lennon and Paul McCartney sold off their publishing rights to ATV, who already controlled a majority of the shares. Sixteen years later, Michael Jackson purchased ATV for just shy of $50 million and legally owned the publishing rights for The Beatles and many other musicians, although Sony would eventually buy out the entire catalog. Recently, McCartney sued Sony over the rights, citing that the US Copyright Act of 1976 allows songwriters to reclaim copyright after a certain amount of years had elapsed. The two parties ultimately settled out of court.
 
 
 

Resulting in one of the biggest payouts in history, most might assume this case was a slam dunk. After being found guilty of copying Marvin Gaye's "Got To Give It Up" for their hit song "Blurred Lines," Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams were ordered to pay $5.3 million to the late singer's family. The tabloids had a field day with the case, especially after Thicke admitted to being too high to remember the recording process; but, an appeal was later filled citing that a song's groove cannot be protected. Focusing on the sheet music alone, the tracks aren’t nearly as similar as they sound.  
 
 
 

Nobody fought the system as passionately as Prince. Warner Bros. published some of the pop-stars most revered work - including "Purple Rain" - and offered a contract worth $100 million in the early '90s which only allowed Prince to release one album per year. Unwilling to stick to anyone else's schedule, and annoyed by Warner Bros. owning his masters, the enigmatic musician changed his name to a symbol to try and get out of the contract. After this plan failed, the Artist Formerly Known as Prince stamped slave on his cheek and took to the streets. In 1996, Prince and Warner Bros. finally parted ways.
 
 

No other recent court case shook the music industry quite like this one. In 2014, Kesha filed a civil suit against her producer Lukasz Sebastian Gottwald; alleging that, among other claims, she was the victim of sexual assault and battery.  Dr. Luke countered with a defamation lawsuit, leading to the pop-singer requesting an injunction to sever her contract with Sony and Kemosabe Records. The injunction and abuse claims were denied and dismissed respectively, forcing Kesha to release her latest album with Dr. Luke's label. The album would achieve platinum status in several countries, with the lead single “Praying” recieving a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Solo Performance.
 
 
 
Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.
 
Slash/Duff Vs. Axl Rose
  
 
 
Coldplay vs Joe Satriani
  
 
 
Mike Joyce vs Morrissey/Johnny Marr
  
 

From being one of metal’s most iconic groups, to being the most hated band on the internet, Metallica has truly done it all.  Napster was a peer-to-peer music sharing site that allowed members to download songs. There was only one problem – the musicians were not receiving any royalties. The platform was already seen as a threat to the industry, but when their track "I Disappear" leaked before schedule, Metallica sued for $10 million and demanded a copyright filter be introduced. Napster lost the case and went bankrupt shortly after, paving the way for further disagreements between streaming services and the music industry.