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Licks for 'Lick'

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  Licks for 'Lick' Dr Justin Koo Shenseea and Megan Thee Stallion’s song ‘ Lick ’ has been subject to major attention and scrutiny due to allegations of copyright infringement. ‘Lick’ reproduced the phrase ‘put your back in it’ made famous by the song ‘ Put Your Back In It ’ that went viral as a result of a TikTok challenge featuring the song. However, the origin of ‘put your back in it’ is derived from an earlier song performed by Belfon in 2001 entitled ‘ Work ’.  The controversy with ‘Lick’ surrounds the use of the lyrics ‘put your back in it’ and two samples from ‘Work’ that Anastas Hackett alleges were used without permission. For the purpose of clarity, it is important to note that copyright in a single song can involve different layers – the lyrics (words), the composition (melody/background music), the performance (actual singing or playing of the music) and the production (mixing and mastering of the sound recording). Each of these elements attract copyright or neighb...