It’s getting to the point that if a headline comes out with Skrillex and Justin Bieber’s name in it, you can bet that one with the name deadmau5 will follow. The former two artists found themselves in something of a legal quandary when Casey Dienal A.K.A. White Hinterland accused them of copyright infringement, and even though Skrillex already addressed it, the progressive house icon couldn’t help but contribute to the dialogue.
Around the same time that Skrillex posted his video demonstrating how he used a pitched-up sample of the original acapella from the writing sessions for “Sorry” without any samples from White Hinterland’s “Ring The Bell,” deadmau5 fired off a volley of incendiary tweets.
how shocking. Hope she bleeds em good for it…. god i fucking hate ripoffs. https://t.co/RbWZUsRj8o
— dead mow cinco (@deadmau5) May 27, 2016
all that fuckin money in the bank… still can’t afford creativity.
— dead mow cinco (@deadmau5) May 27, 2016
While his tirade didn’t ignite any high-profile Twitter feuds, he did engage a handful of his followers.
@BeeThreeAre oh, had no idea you were a fucking certified musicologist! it’s a rip dear.
— dead mow cinco (@deadmau5) May 27, 2016
.@genneo1 *sigh* it has nothing to do with “sampling”… phrasing and melody alone are enough. I rekon she has a really good case.
— dead mow cinco (@deadmau5) May 27, 2016
a direct correlation to the amount of fucks i give. https://t.co/tCenluaryU
— dead mow cinco (@deadmau5) May 27, 2016
@TonyBlazze1 again, this isnt a case involving sampling, you idiot.
— dead mow cinco (@deadmau5) May 27, 2016
While some liken the ordeal to when the late Marvin Gaye’s estate holders sued Pharrell Williams and Robin Thicke for the similarities between their 2013 track “Blurred Lines” and Gaye’s 1977 hit “Got To Give It Up,” they fail to take into account that Gaye’s family members benefitted from the considerable litigious muscle at their disposal. Being that Skrillex and Bieber’s combined legal teams almost certainly dwarf that of Dienal, pursuing the matter further will likely prove an uphill battle for her.
Neither Skrillex nor Justin Bieber have acknowledged deadmau5‘ tweets at this time, and whether the White Hinterland lawsuit results in any form of a settlement remains to be seen, but it will more than likely end up being little more than a blip on the music industry radar.
