It’s been a long time coming, but it appears that Kanye West has finally put his “New Slaves” copyright infringement court battle to bed. According to Reuters, West has reached a settlement agreement with Hungarian artists Gabor Presser over his use of about 85-seconds of the latter’s 1969 song “Gyöngyhajú lány” in the outro of his Yeezus album cut.
Details of the settlement have remain under lock and key. “I am very glad it is over,” is all Presser would say to a Hungarian news agency MTI on Friday. “The matter has been resolved amicably,” the musician’s lawyer Peter Cane added. West, and Sony Corp’s Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC did not provide comment.
Originally, Presser was looking to receive $2.5 million from Kanye over the latter’s inclusion of a stretch of “Gyöngyhajú lány” into “New Slaves.” Sometime back in 2013, West’s representatives tried to work out a deal to clear the sample, and even sent a $10,000 check, but Presser never cashed it. Both sides were preparing to go to court, with a deposition scheduled for Monday.
You can listen to “Gyöngyhajú lány” in the video below, along with “New Slaves” to hear what part of the song West grabbed for the Yeezus album cut.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYmoZ8w_LpE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IyOL-f_UO5k
