Donna Summer Estate’s Big Win Against Kanye West
The Donna Summer estate scored a big win against Kanye West this week related to Vultures 1, his new album with Ty Dolla $ign. The track “Good (Don’t Die)” off of Vultures…

The Donna Summer estate scored a big win against Kanye West this week related to Vultures 1, his new album with Ty Dolla $ign.
The track "Good (Don't Die)" off of Vultures 1 featured an unauthorized sample of Summer's song "I Feel Love." Per Billboard, the backlash to the unauthorized sample led to the song being removed from Spotify four days after it hit the streaming service. Meanwhile, Rolling Stone reports the entire Vultures 1 album has since been removed from Apple Music. The removal is due to ongoing issues with the album's distributor.
As previously reported, Summer's estate shared a statement via an Instagram Story saying West and $ign sampled "I Feel Love" without permission. The statement read, "Kanye West… asked permission to use Donna Summer’s song I Feel Love, he was denied… he changed the words, had someone re sing it or used AI but it’s I Feel Love… copyright infringement!!!"
Summer was not the only artist to cry foul about being sampled without permission by West and $ign. Ozzy Osbourne issued a statement about an unauthorized sample. West and $ign sampled a live recording of Ozzy performing the Black Sabbath classic "Iron Man." The sample was featured on the track "Carnival." The live recording is from Osbourne's performance of the song at the 1983 US Festival.
On Feb. 9, The Prince of Darkness took to social media and slammed the unauthorized use of the recording and West, himself. Ozzy wrote, "Kanye West asked permission to sample a section of a 1983 live performance of 'Iron Man' from the US Festival without vocals and was refused permission because he is an antisemite and has caused untold heartache to many."
He continued, "He went ahead and used the sample anyway at his album listening party last night. I want no association with this man!"
By Feb. 13, West had actually removed the unauthorized sample from "Carnival."
From May 2011 to February 2012, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame featured an exhibit called "Women Who Rock: Vision, Passion, Power." From September 2012 to August 2014, the exhibit traveled around to various museums in the United States. It made its final stop at The Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Mich. While at that museum, I was given a private tour of the collection of over 70 different performers. These performers ranged from Janis Joplin and Tina Turner to Chrissie Hynde and Stevie Nicks.
The exhibit's artifacts dated back to the 1920s and traveled through to the present day. My tour guide made sure to point out that one "unusual" woman was responsible for the exhibit’s existence. On a visit to the Rock Hall, Cyndi Lauper took a tour of the museum, and she noticed that something was missing. "She very simply said, ‘Where the women at?!," said my tour guide, and that was the impetus for that exhibit.
Frankly, the same question can be posed about the Rock Hall inductees in general.
RELATED: A Salute to the Women Performers in the Rock Hall
Rock Hall's chairman John Sykes has made a point in a number of interviews to point out how the Rock Hall needs to evolve. In an interview with Rolling Stone, Sykes said, "...it’s time to take the Hall to 2.0. That means a more diverse board, that means more women, people of color, people who reflect the kind of music that’s now being inducted. We have to look and feel like the artists that come into our Hall. That’s just the natural transition."
Eventually, we’d like to see the ten women artists in the gallery below inducted. They all more than deserve it, and there are plenty of others that still do. Truth be told, this list could be even longer than just ten. Howver, we'll save our extended rambling on this matter for another day.
Cyndi Lauper

The Runaways

NEW YORK - MARCH 17: Musicians Joan Jett and Cherie Currie attend the premiere of "The Runaways" at Landmark Sunshine Cinema on March 17, 2010 in New York City. (Photo by Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images)
Mary J. Blige

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - AUGUST 16: Recording artist Mary J. Blige performs at The Joint inside the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino on August 16, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Melissa Etheridge

WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 14: Melissa Etheridge performs at the 2018 National Geographic Awards at GWU Lisner Auditorium on June 14, 2018 in Washington, DC. The award ceremony was part of the week-long National Geographic Exlorers Festival. (Photo by Paul Morigi/Getty Images for National Geographic)
Cher

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - OCTOBER 03: Cher performs during her Here We Go Again Tour at Rod Laver Arena on October 3, 2018 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Scott Barbour/Getty Images)
Salt-N-Pepa

NEW YORK, NY - JULY 11: (L-R) DJ Spinderella and Cheryl "Salt" James and Sandra "Pepa" Denton of Salt-N-Pepa attend the VH1 Hip Hop Honors: All Hail The Queens at David Geffen Hall on July 11, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images for VH1)
Diana Ross (Solo work)

DUBLIN, IRELAND - MARCH 10: Singer Diana Ross performs at The Point Theatre March 10 2004 in Dublin, Ireland. (Photo by ShowBizIreland/Getty Images)
Bjork

PERTH, AUSTRALIA - FEBRUARY 03: Bjork performs on stage during the 2008 Big Day Out at the Claremont Showgrounds on February 3, 2008 in Perth, Australia. (Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images)
Siouxsie & the Banshees

LONDON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 22: Siouxsie Sioux walks down the runway at the Pam Hogg show during London Fashion Week Autumn/Winter 2010 at On|Off on February 22, 2010 in London, England. (Photo by Ian Gavan/Getty Images)
Alanis Morissette

HAMILTON, ON - MARCH 15: Alanis Morissette is presented an award at the 2015 JUNO Awards at FirstOntario Centre on March 15, 2015 in Hamilton, Canada. (Photo by Sonia Recchia/Getty Images)