Arty files copyright complaint against marshmello & Bastille over ‘Happier’

marshmello seems to be melting under the heat lately—and things are getting even stickier. First, the bucket head multi-millionaire decided to put out a commercial hit with abuser Chris Brown, which stirred up quite the controversy when CHVRCHES frontwoman Lauren Mayberry spoke out. A fellow mello collaborator herself, she would receive countless death and rape threats by Chris Brown fans.

Then marshmello took to Twitter, stating, “you can’t please everyone,” which was called out by Jai Wolf, exposing marshmello’s complacency in the whole ordeal, and further exposing his complicit involvement with abusers like Brown.

Now, marshmello faces a complaint from DJ Arty, who claims marshmello and Bastille‘s international hit, “Happier,” sounds too much like his authorized derivative of OneRepublic’s “I Lived (Arty Remix).” It’s a classic example of living in times of simulation, where plaintiff Arty must prove that “Happier” is an infrindged copy of a copy of a copy. However, in Arty’s case, his “copy” came in the form of an official (and legal) remix. Arty’s lawsuit doesn’t claim dominion over the original “I Lived” composition from OneRepublic, per se, he possesses ownership over any of his original electronic elements added to OneRepublic’s version.

The legal complaint against marshmello, which was in a California federal court early this week, states the songwriters of “Happier” have engaged in “willfully copying” the “original composition elements” of his own remix “note for note.” The defendants in the lawsuit, marshmello (Christopher Comstock), Daniel Campbell Smith, Steve Mac, and various music publishing companies, allegedly copied a synthesizer melody that’s nearly identical in pitch, metric placement, and rhythmic duration.

Read the full complaint here. Also, compare the three songs against each other below and be your own judge.