Olivia Dean song accused of ripping melody from Bill Withers’
Dean's 2025 song, "I've Seen It," and Withers' hit classic have "obvious and inescapable similarities," according to the lawsuit.
Somewhere in a law firm's conference room, a lawyer just played Olivia Dean's "I've Seen It" next to Bill Withers' "Ain't No Sunshine" and decided there was money to be made. The lawsuit says the similarities are "obvious and inescapable. " Honestly, that might be underselling it.
Commentary is separate from the original publisher's reporting.
Olivia Dean’s music collided with a Grammy-winning classic in a new lawsuit accusing the singer of repeatedly copying the melody of Bill Withers’ “Just the Two of Us.”
Dean’s label was sued by Mattie Music Group, the publisher of Withers’ catalog, Friday.
Dean’s 2025 song, “I’ve Seen It,” and Withers’ hit classic have “obvious and inescapable similarities,” according to the lawsuit obtained by Fox News Digital.
“The number, character and arrangement of the shared musical features are so striking that they support an interference that the similarities did not result from coincidence, independent creation or reliance on common musical elements,” the lawsuit claimed.
At the heart of the case is the allegation that “I’ve Seen It” repeatedly copies the “distinctively protectable melody” of “Just the Two of Us.”
After coming across the song in August 2026, Mattie Music Group hired musicologist Alexander Stewart, whose preliminary analysis allegedly found substantial similarities in protectable musical expression.
Mattie Music Group insisted Withers’ original song was so widely disseminated that Dean and co-writers Bastian Langebæk and Max Wolfgang had a reasonable opportunity to encounter it.
“Just the Two of Us” reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100, won a Grammy Award and received decades of radio play and streams. It has also been covered by a number of artists.
The label reportedly notified the companies of the alleged infringement on Aug. 17, 2026, but claims they continued commercially exploiting the song afterward.
The federal lawsuit targets Capitol Records, Universal Music Group, Sony Publishing and Kobalt Music Publishing — not Dean personally — and seeks damages, profits and an injunction against further alleged infringement.
Withers broke through in 1971 with “Ain’t No Sunshine,” which earned him his first Grammy.
His catalog includes classics such as “Lean on Me,” “Use Me,” “Lovely Day,” “Grandma’s Hands” and “Just the Two of Us.
Dean, 27, is a British singer-songwriter whose blend of soul, pop and jazz-inflected R&B has made her one of the UK’s biggest breakout stars.
She released her debut album, “Messy,” in 2023.
Her second album, “The Art of Loving,” produced major hits, including “Nice to Each Other,” “So Easy (To Fall in Love)” and “Man I Need.”
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Original source:
Read at New York PostHow We See It
New Republican Times Editorial Board
Somewhere in a law firm's conference room, a lawyer just played Olivia Dean's "I've Seen It" next to Bill Withers' "Ain't No Sunshine" and decided there was money to be made. The lawsuit says the similarities are "obvious and inescapable." Honestly, that might be underselling it. You don't need a music degree to hear the ghost of Withers all over Dean's melody.
We're not going to pretend every song needs to be wholly original. Blues and rock and soul have always borrowed from each other. But there's a difference between standing on a giant's shoulders and walking off with his coat. The melody is the song's fingerprint. If you take it, you've taken the thing that makes the song worth singing.
Conservatives are supposed to believe in property rights. That includes the rights of a songwriter to control what he created. Bill Withers didn't write "Ain't No Sunshine" for some young artist to lift it note for note without a conversation. If you use the work, you should pay for it. That's not corporate greed. That's just honesty.
Then again, the music industry loves a good copyright fight when it wants to squeeze an independent artist. Dean is a rising British singer, not a major label machine. The real question is whether this is about protecting Withers' legacy or just another expensive legal shakedown. We'll see what the judge hears. Until then, the rest of us can hum the tune and wonder how nobody in the studio noticed earlier.
Commentary written with AI assistance by the New Republican Times Editorial Board.