Hungarian singer sues Kanye West for $2.5m over New Slaves sample

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Gabor Presser says one-third of the song that appeared on the Yeezus album, is an unauthorized copy of a 1969 song he wrote when he was in the band Omega

Kanye West is being sued by a prominent Hungarian rock singer and composer, who accused the hip-hop star of sampling one of his best-known compositions without permission for the 2013 song New Slaves.

In a complaint filed late on Friday in US district court in Manhattan, Gabor Presser said one-third of New Slaves, which appeared on the No 1 album Yeezus, is an unauthorized copy of Gyongyhaju Lany, a 1969 song he wrote when he was in the band Omega.

Omega – Gyngyhaj lny

Presser described his song, which roughly translates in English as Pearls in Her Hair, as one of the most beloved pop songs ever in Hungary and across eastern Europe. He is seeking at least $2.5m in damages for copyright infringement.

Lawyers for West and co-defendant Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, a joint venture between Sony Corp and the estate of pop star Michael Jackson, did not immediately respond on Monday to requests for comment.

Kanye West – New Slaves

Presser said he had no inkling his song was being used until Wests lawyer emailed him soon after marketing began, indicating that West would like to work out a deal with you as soon as possible and giving him 24 hours to respond.

Wests lawyers later sent Presser a $10,000 check and insisted that he grant a license. But Presser never cashed the check, the complaint said.

Kanye West knowingly and intentionally misappropriated plaintiffs composition, the complaint said. After his theft was discovered, defendants refused to deal fairly with plaintiff.

It is common for well-known singers to be accused of stealing song ideas from the original composers. For example, in another prominent case, Led Zeppelin lead singer Robert Plant and guitarist Jimmy Page face a 14 June trial in Los Angeles over whether they stole the opening chords for their 1971 classic Stairway to Heaven from a 1967 instrumental.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/may/23/kanye-west-lawsuit-new-slaves-sample

Wannabe MLS Hooligans Are Adopting The Worst Of Soccer Culture

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Before the New York Red Bulls and NYCFC match kicked off at Yankee Stadium on Saturday, two incidents between rival fans sparked police involvement. First, seen in the video above captured byBleacher Report UK’s Garry Hayes, an NYCFC fan and a Red Bulls fan exchanged missing punches while the two sides taunted each other. 

Elsewhere outside of Yankee Stadium, in a separate incident, the tension between fan groups continued. When Red Bulls supporters arrived en masse to Yankee Stadium before kickoff, they had a standoff against NYCFC fans, hurling insults and bottles. They made a scene, and frankly, the whole thing looked pretty lame.

So what’s the beef here? Why are these two groups of fans fighting? It can’t be over a May 2015 noise complaint against NYCFC fans on the PATH train, right? 

As it stands, the rivalry is based on where the two teams play more than anything.Despite having “New York” in their name, the New York Red Bulls actuallyplay in the Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey. NYCFC, on the other hand, make a point to display their pride in making New York City their home, temporarily playing in Yankee Stadium as they mine New York City’s boroughs for land to build a soccer stadium on. It’s not dissimilar to how the NFL’s New York Jets and Giants share MetLife stadium in the swamps of New Jersey’s Meadowlands. 

Geographically, that’s set up the “Hudson Derby” beef between fan bases: NYCFC actually plays in New York City and its fans don’t let Red Bulls fans forget that. Red Bulls fans give NYCFC fans hell for playing their soccer on top of a baseball field and for signing aging European stars — a transfer tactic MLS fans want to see less of. 

Michael Stewart via Getty Images
Red Bulls fans ripped their shirts off at Yankee Stadium during their team’s 7-0 demolition of home team NYCFC.

None of these gripes, however, are authentic or deeply rooted in any way. They’re all superficial, stemming from how the two clubs market the supposed “rivalry.” Saturday’s match followed a week of MLS and club marketing efforts known as “Rivalry Week.” Inadvertently, MLS may have unintentionally incited these incidents by playing up a non-rivalry rivalry. Essentially, the two divisions of New York soccer fans have been fed a narrative to get them psyched up for the match. And with NYCFC still developing their own fan culture in their second season of play, it’s easy bait for fans to take. 

And they’ve bit hard. Saturday’s events aren’t the first time the two sides have gone after each other. In August 2015, AP soccer writer Rob Harris captured footage of NYCFC fans and Red Bulls fans fighting and throwing signs at each other outside of a Red Bulls’ supporters bar in Newark, New Jersey. The pre-game altercation was eventually broken up by a few police sirens. 

All of this is to say: There is no New York soccer rivalry. The two teams’ wannabe hooligans or “Ultras” are misguided, lame, dangerous and, most of all, seriously unoriginal.

The way the fans have gone about expressing their hostilities is ripped straight from European soccer’s hooligan fan culture, specifically England’s. In Harris’ video, fans can be heard chanting “WHO ARE YA?” at each other in English accents. In Hayes’ tweet, he drew a parallel between England’s deadly hooligans in the ’80s and what happened on Saturday. These aren’t good looks for either team, and should the violence persist, MLS as a whole, either. 

Soccer hooliganism is still goingstrong in European countries like Turkey, where the violence is threatening their top-flight league’s existence, much like England’s hooligans in the ’80s. During that time, fan violence in England was so widespread that many people were killed or seriously injured; attendance began to drop as people steered away from the hateful cauldrons around city stadiums. Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher even set up a “war cabinet” to combat hooligans and save English soccer from itself. It worked, and hooliganism has faded in England while the Premier League has risen to the top of international sport. 

But do NYCFC and Red Bulls supporter groups want to go down that path? Their behavior looks especially bad compared to how fans act during MLS’ premier rivalry between the Portland Timber and Seattle Sounders. Those two cities have a longstanding rivalry dating back to the ’70s, giving each fan base’s culture a historical anchor point and authenticity. Moreover, each team’s supporters are simply spirited, not violent. And because of that, MLS loves to point to their derby match as their best overall product. 

Although I didn’t personally see either of Saturday’s brawls, I attended the match and came away impressed with the in-game atmosphere. When I spoke to an NYCFC rep during the match,they noted that although the turned-up atmosphere gave it that rivalry feel, the matchup couldn’t possibly be a rivalry, yet — NYCFC is 0-4 against the Red Bulls, scoring an aggregate of four goals to Red Bulls’ 17. Especially in the wake of NYCFC’s 7-0 home defeat on Saturday, they probably need to beat the Red Bulls first before their fans can stake a fierce, competitive claim as their rivals. Just as it is with the New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets, there’s no real competitive rivalry if the teams aren’t good. 

Standing outside of the stadium post-match, an NYCFC fan and a Red Bulls supporter began bantering at each other. The NYCFC fan only had curses to hurl. The Red Bulls fan had the last word: “You lost 7-0 and we’re up 17-4 on you guys, a**hole.”

Given the passion and excitement these fans have invested into their clubs, a true rivalry is indeed brewing in New York professional soccer. But to get there, fans need to kick-out wannabe English hooliganism, take in a few decently competitive matches and organically let the rivalry unfold.

Stop forcing it, fans.  

Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2016/05/23/wannabe-mls-hooligans-are-adopting-the-worst-of-soccer-culture_n_10108768.html

Angry Birds knock Captain America from top of box office pecking order

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App-inspired film takes $39m in debut weekend, with young audiences praising movie despite critics mixed reviews

The Angry Birds Movie soared to $39m in its debut weekend at the US box office, knocking Captain America: Civil War off its perch at the top. New adult comedies Neighbors 2 and The Nice Guys struggled to get their footing, according to comScore estimates on Sunday.

Rovio Animation spearheaded the production of The Angry Birds Movie, which cost around $73m and opened strongly internationally last weekend. The film has already earned $150m worldwide, according to estimates from Sony.

The Angry Birds Movie features the voices of Jason Sudeikis, Josh Gad and Danny McBride and, as an attempt to create a compelling story out of a fairly simplistic app-based game, has received mixed reviews from critics. Audiences under 25, however, gave the film an A CinemaScore, which should help the film continue to perform well over Memorial Day weekend.

Its very difficult turning a video game property into a successful movie, said Josh Greenstein, Sonys president of worldwide marketing and distribution. To use a bad pun, we are flying high.

ComScores senior media analyst, Paul Dergarabedian, said the success of Angry Birds likely had more to do with family appeal and ingrained brand recognition.

Families are always looking for out-of-the-home content, Dergarabedian said, noting also that the film was the latest in a string of very successful PG-rated films including The Jungle Book and Zootopia.

PG is the hot new rating now. There used to be a stigma that younger teens wouldnt be interested. The numbers prove that when you go after the broadest base possible, you can be highly successful.

The PG-13 rated Captain America: Civil War was not too far behind, earning an additional $33.1m for a second-place spot, which brings its domestic total to $347.4m. Even in his third weekend in theaters, the superhero proved mightier than R-rated comedies Neighbors 2 and The Nice Guys, both of which underwhelmed.

Neighbors 2 brought in only $21.8m less than half of the first films $49m opening in 2014. But the film from the director Nick Stoller also cost only $35m to make.

Were really proud of Neighbors 2, said Nick Carpou, Universals president of domestic distribution. Were not just out there trying to go to the bank on something. It really is a different take.

Stars Seth Rogen, Rose Byrne and Zac Efron all returned for the sequel which puts a new spin on the frat next door idea by having the young familys new neighbors be a sorority comprised of girls upset about the unequal rules for fraternities and sororities.

The R-rated 70s-set buddy comedy The Nice Guys grossed $11.3m for a fourth-place spot. Warner Bros handled the domestic distribution for the Shane Black-directed film, which stars Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe and has been very well received by critics.

While the comedy openings might be less than hoped for, both could still provide decent counterprogramming to the spectacle-driven films opening on Memorial Day weekend, when mega productions X-Men: Apocalypse and Alice Through the Looking Glass take over.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/may/22/angry-birds-captain-america-nice-guys-box-office