Eminem Is Suing A New Zealand Political Party Over An Election Ad
Eminem's "Lose Yourself" is one of the biggest songs of his esteemed career and it looks like Em is tryin' to eat some more off the song. New Zealand's Stuff publication has revealed that Eight Mile Style, LLC and Martin Affiliated, LLC, the publishing companies behind Eminem, are suing the National Party in New Zealand over a song in a commercial that sounds a lot like the opening riff from "Lose Yourself" (watch the ad here). A statement give to the press reads, "The proceedings stem from allegations that unauthorised use has been made of Eminem's Grammy and Academy Award winning song, 'Lose Yourself,' in election campaign advertising run by the National Party in the lead up to the 2014 New Zealand General Election which is to take place on 20 September 2014."
The National Party is rejecting the allegation and claim that they went through the necessary licensing procedures. "We think it's pretty legal, we think these guys are having a crack and have a bit of an eye for the main chance because it's an election campaign," says campaign manager Steven Joyce. "We've got all the licensing, we've told them that and made it clear again this afternoon. We also incidentally moved on from this song about two weeks ago at the same time they first started to raise questions. I think they're just trying to shake us down for some money before the election."
According to Joel Martin, who is speaking on behalf of the publishers behind "Lose Yourself," neither Eminem nor the publishing companies were approached for permission to use any of Em's songs for the ad. "It is both disappointing and sadly ironic that the political party responsible for championing the rights of music publishers in New Zealand by the introduction of the three strikes copyright reforms should itself have so little regard for copyright."
Previously: Benzino Says His Beef With Eminem Was "Blown Out Of Proportion"
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