Travis Scott’s “Highest In The Room” was one of 2019’s biggest songs, but now it has gotten the rapper into a bit of trouble: Scott is being sued over the single due to alleged copyright infringement.
Billboard reports that a trio of songwriters — Olivier Bassil, Benjamin Lasnier, and Lukas Benjamin Leth — filed the lawsuit in federal court in California against Scott (real name Jacques Webster), as well as other people and entities involved with the song’s creation and release: Oz (Ozan Yildirim), Nik D (Nik Dejan Frascona), Mike Dean, Cash Passion (Jamie Lepr), Sean Solymar, Cactus Jack Records, Grand Hustle LLC, Sony Music Entertainment, Sony/ATV Music Publishing, Papa George Music, and These Are Songs of Pulse.
In the 37-page complaint, the plaintiffs accuse Scott and his collaborators of “pretending to be interested in a collaboration” before “intentionally [breaking] the rules by exploiting plaintiffs work without consent or a license, masquerading as if plaintiff’s music is their own.”
The songwriters say they created a song called “Cartier,” which features a distinct guitar melody that “Highest In The Room” allegedly ripped off, in 2019. Lasier then posted a link to the song online and sent the track to over 100 producers and artists, including Lepr. The complaint states, “There is no doubt that Defendants’ ‘Highest in the Room’ was modeled after and copied original, prominent and qualitatively and quantitatively important parts of Plaintiff’s ‘Cartier.’”
Richard Busch, the attorney for the songwriters, said, “Everything we basically have to say is set forth in the Complaint. I will just add that our clients are very successful songwriters/producers who, as set forth in the Complaint, and is common practice, corresponded with the defendant writers with an eye toward licensing their work through a collaboration. They never expected that this would end up in a lawsuit but felt they had no choice but to take this action under these circumstances.”
The songwriters are asking a judge to declare copyright infringement, and for damages and a share of the song’s royalties.