Madonna Issues Legal Warning to Tory Lanez — On Instagram — Over Alleged ‘Into the Groove’ Infringement

Photo Credit: Chris Weger / CC by 2.0

Madonna has issued a firmly worded legal warning to Tory Lanez for allegedly infringing upon her “Into the Groove” (1985) song in “Pluto’s Last Comet,” the eighth track on his newly released Alone At Prom effort.

63-year-old Madonna took aim at the purported copyright infringement of Tory Lanez on Instagram, commenting on a post from the 29-year-old. Predictably, all manner of Lanez fans and Madonna diehards have since clashed in the comments section, rendering it relatively difficult to find the remarks that spurred the controversy.

However, after scrolling through a substantial number of these passionate replies, one will eventually happen upon the statement that caused the dispute. “Read your messages tor illegal usage of my song get into the groove!” Madonna wrote, though as mentioned at the outset, the 1985 track’s official title is “Into the Groove.”

Tory Lanez – whose arraignment for the alleged shooting of Megan Thee Stallion is scheduled for next month – released “Pluto’s Last Comet” a little over two weeks back. The seemingly 80s-inspired song is substantially similar to Madonna’s nearly 37-year-old “Into the Groove,” multiple fans are claiming in the video’s YouTube comments section – with others yet identifying perceived stylistic overlap with Rick Astley’s internet-famous “Never Gonna Give You Up” (1987).

At the time of this piece’s writing, Madonna’s comment had garnered north of 3,000 likes and over 500 replies, and the Bay City, Michigan-born artist – who sold her recorded catalog to Warner Music Group in August – didn’t seem to have levied a related lawsuit against Tory Lanez.

And the Canadian rapper, for his part, hasn’t responded to Madonna’s Instagram comment or addressed the matter with a different social-media post. It bears mentioning on this front that Alone At Prom marks Tory Lanez’s second independent album, for the artist released Daystar via his One Umbrella Records in September of 2020, after exiting Universal Music’s Interscope Records.

More broadly, 2021 has brought multiple other copyright infringement allegations in the music industry – as well as the quiet addition of songwriters to popular tracks from Olivia Rodrigo.

Nickelback, for instance, was named in an infringement suit over “Rockstar” (2005), while The Weeknd is facing a complaint centering on “Call Out My Name” (2018). Chris Brown, Ed Sheeran and Halsey, and Childish Gambino are among the many other artists who are fending off infringement actions.

But 2021 has likewise delivered the conclusion of copyright legal battles between Tracy Chapman and Nicki Minaj as well as Ariana Grande and one Josh Stone.