As previously reported by The Root, back in June, Carey was hit with a copyright infringement suit stemming from her iconic holiday hit, “All I Want for Christmas Is You.” The suit was brought forth by songwriter Andy Stone—professionally known as Vince Vance from the New Orleans-based country pop group Vince Vance & the Valiants—for copyright infringement, misappropriation and more. He was seeking $20 million from Carey, co-writer Walter Afanasieff, Sony Corporation of America, and Sony Music Entertainment. Per the suit, Stone claims he co-wrote a song of the same back in 1989 that got “extensive airplay during the 1993 Christmas season and began making appearances on the Billboard Music Charts.”
However, on Wednesday, Stone’s attorneys “voluntarily dismissed the case,” according to Variety, though Stone could still refile and pursue this case at a later date. Additionally, and as noted by Rolling Stone, the $20 million-dollar reward would more than likely not be granted then on the account of the fact that there are “currently 177 copyrighted songs with the title ‘All I Want for Christmas Is You.’”
So yes, that means you can now blast Carey’s 1994 hit to heart’s content without any feelings of guilt. (To be honest, the song has been on repeat in my household ever since 12:01 on Nov. 1 and I had absolutely no intentions on easing up so that’s that on that on that front.) Happy Mariah Carey Season!
