Mampintsha’s Management is Suing Apple Music For Removing His Music After He Was Charged With Assaulting Babes Wodumo
The artist's management feels Mampintsha is being treated unfairly.
Some of South African kwaito star Mampintsha's music seems to have been removed from Apple Music. For instance, one of his recent songs "Siyabanthandazela" is no longer accessible on the platform. Songs that feature other artists seem to not have been touched—Babes Wodumo's 2016 debut album, Gqom Queen Vol. 1, which featured Mampintsha on every song, is still available on the streaming platform. So is his single "Amaketanga," which features Babes.
This comes after Mampintsha assaulted Babes Wodumo in an incident that was caught on Instagram Live last month. Mampintsha's manager, Lindo Buthelezi aka Dogg DBN is suing Apple Music/iTunes for R10 million, Drum magazine reports.
Dogg told the publication:
"I have attempted to reach Apple but I have now handed over everything to my lawyers. We had a contractual agreement with Apple and upon hearing the news of Mampintsha and Babes Wodumo's dispute, the store was supposed to consult with us and tell us why they would be removing our goods from the store. Mampintsha has not been convicted by law and has paid Apple to load goods onto the store. On top of that, the store is getting a percentage from his products being on their store."
He also added that he found the move to be a sign of inconsistency from the streaming company, saying:
"There's a loophole in the platforms that we use. Chris Brown was convicted by law and there are images of Rihanna being hurt out there but because they make so much money from Chris Brown's music, they could not risk that by removing his music. But because Mampintsha is from South Africa and doesn't make them those millions, they remove his music. It is not fair."
He further added that radio stations that have reportedly stopped playing Mampintsha's music were playing themselves: "Radio stations need artists to survive as artists are influential, so if they boycott us then it is also a loss for them."
Dogg doesn't want his actions to be mistaken as him siding with the artist and his wrongdoings. He made it clear he believes the artist was in the wrong for hitting his partner "In no way am I saying Mampintsha was right for what he did, but I just want people to be able to approach every situation objectively," Drum quoted him as saying.