From L to R: Alabaster Box and Medikal
Ghanaian music group Alabaster Box has officially taken legal action against rapper Medikal for allegedly using a portion of their song “Akwaaba” without permission.
The lawsuit comes just a week after the group threatened legal action against the rapper, and while many hoped the issue would be resolved amicably, Medikal’s actions, or lack thereof, have left the group with no other choice but to turn to the courts.
At the heart of this legal dispute is the first 10 seconds of Medikal’s song “Welcome to Africa,” which Alabaster Box and their legal team from Sustineri Attorneys say contains an unapproved sample of one of the group’s hit songs “Akwaaba.”
The group is seeking to protect their creative investment, intellectual property and also years of hardwork.
The five demands from Alabaster Box that Medikal ignored, which triggered the lawsuit
Before Alabaster Box headed to court, they attempted to resolve the matter by issuing five specific demands to Medikal.
They are;
1.Withdrawal of the song: The group’s first straightforward demand was that the infringing song should be pulled from all platforms both traditional and digital.
2. Stop performing and marketing the song: They also demanded an immediate end to all public performances, direct marketing, and sales of the song.
3.Terminate related agreements: They also asked for the cancellation of any ongoing contracts related to the song’s production, promotion, distribution, and sale.
They asked Medikal’s team to provide proof that those agreements had been cancelled.
4. Revenue accountability: Alabaster Box wanted a transparent account of all the money the song has accrued, from streaming, performances, and any other form of promotion or distribution.
5.List of all distributors: Lastly, they asked for a list of every person or organisation that had received a copy of the song and the steps being taken to retrieve those copies.
Medikal’s failure to act on these demands
Instead of complying with the demands or initiating a conversation with the music group, Medikal only edited the first 10 seconds of the song, and only on YouTube.
On other streaming platforms such as Spotify, Apple Music, Audiomack, and Boomplay, the song remains in its original form, including the allegedly unauthorised “Akwaaba” sample.
Alabaster Box believes Medikal’s action isn’t only inadequate but also blatantly disrespectful.
Their legal team described it as “an admission of guilt” and “a clear indication that Medikal is aware of his infringing conduct.”
“Plaintiff avers that defendant following the receipt of plaintiff’s demands, and in admission of his infringing conduct, edited the infringing song on his YouTube channel to remove portions relating to Plaintiff’s copyrighted work,” the writ read.
More importantly, the group stated in their lawsuit that Medikal made this change without so much as a phone call, email, or any form of communication with the group or their lawyers.
In the writ submitted to the court, Alabaster Box pointed out that despite being served with formal demands, Medikal “ignored and refused to honour” them.
They further stated that while the YouTube version had been edited, the infringing version was still being promoted and distributed, from radio airplay to streaming platforms, the song is still out there and the group’s copyright is still being infringed, in their view.
“Plaintiff repeats paragraph 25 above and says further that defendant nonetheless maintained and continued to promote the version of the song with plaintiff’s infringing copyright work on other digital platforms such as Apple Music, Spotify, Audiomack, Boomplay and for airplay on radio stations despite plaintiff’s demands,” the writ continued.
AK/EB
