Sampling brings old songs back to life, but permission needs to be sought for – Joe Mettle’s take on copyright infringement
Gospel musician Joe Mettle has shared his thoughts on the copyright issues raised by Hallelujah Voices against Team Eternity Ghana over their hit song “Defe Defe.”
In an interview with Citi FM’s Caleb Kudah on June 21, Joe Mettle talked about song sampling and why many old songs are disappearing.
Joe Mettle explained that he is not against song sampling. He believes old songs are disappearing because they are not being re-recorded.
“Some songs should not die; they need to be re-recorded,” he said.
He also pointed out that old songs often get lost because they are not registered on proper publishing platforms.
If they were registered, it would be easier to manage sampling permissions.
On June 18, Kwame Mickey, the executive producer for Hallelujah Voices’ song “Defe Defe,” claimed on Facebook that Team Eternity Ghana used the “defe defe” line from his song without permission. Team Eternity Ghana’s version of “Defe Defe,” released on May 1, 2024, quickly became popular, topping music charts and getting millions of views and streams online. Kwame Mickey alleges that the new song copied a part of his 2004 song with the same title.
Joe Mettle further revealed that getting permission to sample songs can be difficult because it’s hard to find the original creators.
He thinks the copyright issue between Hallelujah Voices and Team Eternity Ghana could have been resolved more smoothly. He emphasized that copyright infringement involves more than just using a lyric from a song.
Joe Mettle’s “Praise Reloaded” event is scheduled for Sunday, June 30, 2024, at 3 PM at the Accra Sports Stadium. The event will feature well-known ministers, and attendees are encouraged to register and join.
