A virtually unknown Belgian songwriter has succeeded in putting the freeze on a Madonna tune.
Composer Salvatore Acquaviva sued the Material Girl in May, claiming the singer had engaged in some unauthorized borrowing from his 1993 song "Ma Vie Fout L'camp (My Life's Getting Nowhere)" to augment her 1998 hit "Frozen," off her album Ray of Light.
"I was in the bath. I was listening to the radio, and thought that's strange, I know that melody. I said it's not possible," the European tunesmith told Belgium's RTL TV in May.
Though Madonna's legal team argued that Acquaviva was simply trying to cash in on some of the Kabbalah enthusiast's wealth, a Belgian court in the town of Mons ruled in favor of the songwriter Friday and banned the song from being played or sold in the country.
Record stores were given 15 days to remove "Frozen" from their shelves and radio and television stations were threatened with a 150,000-euro fine for playing the song.
"The judge has ruled Madonna must withdraw from sales all remaining disks, and orders that TV and radio can no longer play 'Frozen,' " Acquaviva's lawyer, Victor-Vincent Dehin, told the Associated Press.
No damages were set in the case and Madonna may appeal the ruling if she chooses.
It's not the first time the singer has been accused of doing a little unorthodox sampling from someone else's work.
In 2004, Madonna settled a copyright lawsuit that claimed she had ripped off the work of late French erotic photographer Guy Bourdin in the video for "Hollywood" from her American Life album by reenacting images and poses from at least 11 of Bourdin's photos.
Details of the settlement were undisclosed; however, Madonna did not acknowledge any wrongdoing in the incident.
Earlier this week, the "Like a Virgin" singer finally unveiled her latest album, Confessions on a Dance Floor, after engaging in a massive publicity push behind the record.
As of Thursday, the album was ranked number two in music sales on Amazon.com.
Meanwhile, Madonna's production company, Maverick TV, has teamed with the MTV's gay and lesbian channel, Logo, to produce a Melrose Place-esque soap titled San Rafael, about a group of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender friends and rivals who live in the same apartment complex.
Even Madge wants her MTV. (As reported by E! Online)
E-MAIL AUTHOR
