Jay-Z paid for my whirlpool, says Swiss musician in plagiarism case

Swiss music pioneer Bruno Spoerri says he has US rapper Jay-Z to thank for his whirlpool. Jay-Z paid Spoerri CHF30,000 ($32,700) for sampling one of his works without permission. +Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox In 2015 a friend of Spoerri's told him that Jay-Z's song Versus sounded very much like an excerpt from Spoerri's piece On the Way, recorded in 1978 for the experimental film Lilith, the Schweizer Illustrierte wrote on Monday. + Jay Z accused of stealing Swiss music sample In a BBC interview, Jay-Z claimed he had written the song together with producer Timbaland. "Fake news! They simply stole my song, lowered the melody half a note and amplified the beat," said 89-year-old Spoerri. Thanks to a publisher, an out-of-court settlement was reached at the time. Spoerri says he used the money he received to buy himself a new shower as well as a whirlpool. He also receives "a few francs a year" in royalties. Spoerri is a pioneer of the Swiss music scene in ...