Kanye West Settles Lawsuit with Donna Summer Estate Over Sample Dispute

Kanye West has reached a settlement with the estate of the late singer Donna Summer over a lawsuit alleging unauthorized use of her voice in his track “Good (Don’t Die).”

The agreement was confirmed by Rolling Stone, revealing that Summer’s widower, Bruce Sudano, finalized a “global settlement” with West as of Wednesday, May 15. The proposed settlement, which began earlier this month, is pending signatures from all involved parties, according to federal court filings.

Despite the settlement, Sudano has cautioned that if West fails to uphold the agreement or if an acceptable resolution isn’t achieved, he will resume legal proceedings.

“Plaintiff anticipates that the final settlement agreement can be executed shortly, and soon thereafter, the parties will be in a position to file a stipulation for dismissal of the action in its entirety,” stated estate lawyer Stanton L. Stein in a court document. “In the unlikely event the parties are unable to conclude the settlement by June 14, 2024, plaintiff intends to diligently prosecute the action against all defendants. As such, plaintiff requests that dismissal not be entered at this time.”

The specifics of the settlement have not been disclosed.

In February, the estate of Donna Summer, best known for the hit “Heaven Knows,” filed a lawsuit against West. The lawsuit claimed that “Good (Don’t Die)” from the album “Vultures 1” featured vocals that mimicked Summer’s iconic track “I Feel Love,” which the estate had previously refused to license.

Court documents revealed that West attempted to bypass the estate’s refusal by using an interpolation instead of a direct sample, which the estate argued still constituted copyright infringement. Consequently, West, his collaborator Ty Dolla $ign, and the record label were all named in the lawsuit.

The estate sought significant damages and an injunction to prevent further distribution of the track. They also made multiple attempts to have the song removed from streaming services.

Efforts to reach Kanye West’s team for comment were unsuccessful.

“Good (Don’t Die)” was initially removed from Spotify due to the controversy surrounding the use of “I Feel Love.” The song was later re-uploaded with confusing credits, listing RichYeRich as the performer, Brian Jamoe as the writer, and no producer, under the source DarkSide LLC, which has no known online presence. The track has since been removed again, despite having garnered millions of streams.

This settlement marks a crucial resolution in the ongoing conflict between West and the estate of the disco legend.