Summary: A Minneapolis funk band says that Bruno Mars and Mark Ronson lifted elements from their 1980s song to make “Uptown Funk.”
Bruno Mars’ “Uptown Funk” may have been “ice cold, Michelle Phieffer, that white gold;” but the hit single could also prove to be a headache for the 31-year-old musician. According to TMZ, a Minnesota band is suing Mars, saying that he copied their 1980s song.
“Uptown Funk” was a major hit, and Mars’ most profitable song to date. It sold 6.1 million copies and reportedly makes the label $100,000 a week streaming on Spotify. It has been seen on Youtube almost 2 billion times. In the lawsuit, the plaintiffs are seeking a share of those mega profits because of the alleged copyright infringement.
Members of the band, Collage, released a funky single in 1983 called “Young Girls,” and the last living member of the music group claims that Mars and producer Mark Ronson plagiarized their melody, rhythm, harmony, and structure. Mars has already admitted in the past that he was influenced by the 1980s Minneapolis electro-funk soul music scene, and Collage was a part of that world, which included Prince.
The complaint was filed by Collage’s Larry White, who also listed as plaintiffs the estates of his dead colleagues Grady Wilkins and Lee Peters. They are suing Mars, Ronson, Trinidad James, Jeff Bhasker, Devon Gallaspy, Phillip Lawrence, Sony Music Entertainment, Warner/Chappell Music, Atlantic Records, and RCA Records, according to Pitchfork.
Do you think the songs are similar? As Bruno Mars would say, “Don’t believe me, just watch.”
Source: TMZ