Business News Legal

Madonna sued over alleged Vogue samples, and French political imagery

By | Published on Monday 16 July 2012

Madonna

An American company called VMG is suing Madonna claiming that her 1990 single ‘Vogue’ included an uncleared sample of a 1977 song it owns, called ‘Love Break’.

Before you ask, VMG says that the ‘Love Break’ samples have been so cleverly used in the Madonna track, that they are very hard to hear, but that new technology employed last year proved that they are there – and that’s the reason it’s taken 22 years to sue. And, VMG adds, it can prove that the producer and co-writer on the track, Robert ‘Shep’ Pettibone, had access to ‘Love Break’, because he had been involved in a remix of the 70s track before beginning work on ‘Vogue’.

Says the VMG lawsuit: “The portions of ‘Love Break’ which have been copied into ‘Vogue’ and all its various ‘mixes’, ‘remixes’, videos, YouTube versions, etc are numerous but intentionally hidden. The unauthorised sampling was deliberately hidden by [Madonna and Pettibone] within ‘Vogue’ so as to avoid detection. It was only when VMG specifically looked for the sample, with the technology available to it in 2011, that the sampling could be confirmed”.

VMG wants damages and a cut of all the money generated by ‘Vogue’ over the years. Which would presumably be rather a lot. Madonna’s people are yet to comment, though her lawyers already have another project to be working on too.

A spokesman for the French far right National Front political group has said it will sue the singer for “insult” after she showed an image of the organisation’s leader Marine Le Pen with a swastika superimposed on her face. The image appeared at a concert as part of a video sequence in which Madonna’s face morphs into those of various controversial world figures. After Le Pen’s face appeared, complete with Nazi symbol, it morphed into a face resembling that of Adolf Hitler

After Madonna screened the video at a show in Paris this weekend, Florian Philippot, VP of the French National Front, said the images were an “unacceptable” provocation, and told Reuters: “A private plaintiff’s case for insult will be presented next week. It is our duty to bring a complaint to defend our voters and our supporters”.

Since taking over as leader of the political party from her father Jean-Marie, Le Pen has been trying to widen support for her group by expelling extremists in its ranks, and cracking down on racist and anti-Semitic talk amongst its members. Nevertheless, she remains a controversial figure, though did win 18% of the vote in April’s first-round presidential election in France.

Madonna’s people are yet to respond to the National Front’s lawsuit threats.



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