Listen to these two recordings on YouTube. They're not long, but you don't need long to realize Jay Z has done more than borrow.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxsnaamt6gI Bruno Spoerri's "On the way"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1Sboc05DhA Jay Z 's "Versus"
Clare O'Dea writes on January 28th 2014:
'Veteran Swiss jazz and electronic musician Bruno Spoerri has accused Jay Z, one of the United States’ most successful hip hop artists, of illegally using a 1978 music sample in the rapper’s latest album Magna Carta Holy Grail.
'"In a way I’m flattered that a relatively young rapper takes a sample from an old man, a sample that is about 35 years old,” 78-year-old Spoerri told swissinfo.ch, speaking from his home in Zurich.
“On the other hand I’m furious because it would have been so simple to clear the sample. All it would have needed was a call or an email to the company and I think it would have been relatively cheap.”
...........The 1978 track On the Way was composed by Spoerri for the film Lilith. Financially, the two musicians are at opposite ends of the music spectrum.
In 2012, Forbes estimated the net worth of Jay Z – real name Shawn Carter – from music and other businesses at $500 million (CHF450 million). Jay Z and Justin Timberlake won a Grammy award on January 26 for their collaboration on another track from Magna Carta Holy Grail.
Spoerri, who still performs once or twice a month, says what matters most to him is an apology.'
Bruno Spoerri is a serious working musician, the first electronic music composer in Switzerland, a sax player, and he deserves proper recognition!
SRF 3/Carmen Köppel 
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