Banks Calls Out Neon Jungle For Covering “Waiting Game” Without Her Permission
Banks is upset after UK girl-group Neon Jungle included a cover of her song “Waiting Game” on their debut album without asking her permission. The song is set to appear on Banks’ album Goddess, which comes out in September, but Neon Jungle’s album just came out this week. The LA singer posted a statement on Facebook to address the issue: “I was as shocked as you to see this song made up of my own heartbeats on their album. A song that was born from my real life, my real heartache, my real fingertips when I was at one of the most confusing times in my life. How strange it is to see it used on someone else’s album before it even comes out on mine.”
Neon Jungle shared a cover of the song back in February, so it shouldn’t have been a complete surprise when it showed up on their album. The group has also done covers of Kiesza’s “Hideaway” and Hozier’s “Take Me To The Church,” the latter of which appears on the deluxe edition of their album. Part of the reason Banks is mad may be that Neon Jungle didn’t attribute the song as a cover. Technically speaking, this isn’t necessary but could have been seen as a gesture of goodwill. Banks is on her way to becoming a star, but chances are that most people who listen to the Neon Jungle album will have no idea that “Waiting Game” isn’t an original track.
Legally, Neon Jungle is in the clear. Banks is credited in the liner notes, and she’ll be paid royalties on each purchase or stream of the track. “It makes me feel very uncomfortable. Like my own thoughts were stolen from me and sold as someone elses,” Banks continued in her post. “I am a new artist and new to this business and I am told it is legal. But it feels really icky. I guess I can only hope Waiting Game means as much to Neon Jungle as it did to me when I wrote it.”
Compare the two versions of the track below:
Banks’ Goddess is out 9/9 via Harvest. Read our Q&A with her from earlier this year here.