In a statement, 2Point9 Records accused Ministry of Sound of knowingly releasing a remix by Regard that included unauthorized samples.
Ministry of Sound has landed in the crosshairs of another UK label called 2Point9 Records as the latter has accused the former of copyright infringement. Specifically, 2Point9 has alleged that Regard‘s 2019 remix of Jay Sean‘s 2008 single “Ride It” “substantially sampled” the source material without permission.
According to a statement issued by 2Point9, the label had been “willing to discuss terms for the use of its master recording but… Ministry of Sound Recordings chose not to enter into any meaningful commercial discussions, electing instead to proceed with its release.” Ministry of Sound has not publicly responded at the time of writing.
Regard’s “Ride It” remix went viral when it was posted on TikTok in 2019. 2Point9 claims that it brought the unauthorized sample of Jay Sean’s vocals to Ministry of Sound’s attention, but that the dance music mega-brand went ahead with the release shortly thereafter. It also alleges that Ministry of Sound claimed that the vocal had been re-recorded but later admitted it was a sample.
“We have been fighting our corner on this matter for five years now and won’t stop until we get justice,” said 2Point9 Co-Founder Billy Grant. “Throughout the entire time we have been pursuing this claim, Ministry of Sound Recordings has treated our label with arrogance and dismissiveness, and the irony is not lost on us that before its acquisition by Sony Music Entertainment, Ministry of Sound Recordings was an independent label itself.”
Regard’s remix of “Ride It” reached #2 on the UK singles chart, and it has amassed more than 1.3 billion Spotify streams at the time of writing. Meanwhile, Jay Sean’s original version of the track sits at 97 million streams on the same platform.
