Lola Young Files Claim Against ‘Messy’ Co-Producer Carter Lang Over Songwriting Credits
Lola Young has filed an intellectual property court claim against musician Carter Lang, “strongly [refuting]” his assertions that he has writing credits on four of her songs.
Lang, who has worked with everyone from Justin Bieber to SZA, previously collaborated with Young on her breakthrough single “Messy” as well as four songs off her latest album “I’m Only Fucking Myself,” which released last month. While Variety was unable to view the documents, the BBC reports that the claim was filed in London on behalf of Young and Sony Music Publishing on Wednesday, and that the credit dispute has been going on for months.
While it’s unclear which four songs are at the heart of the issue, Lang has contributed to “Good Books,” “Messy” and “Crush” off of last year’s “This Wasn’t Meant for You Anyway,” as well as “One Thing,” “Walk All Over You,” “Post Sex Clarity” and “Not Like That Anymore” off her third album.
Variety has reached out to reps for Young, Lang and Sony Music Publishing for comment.
Young rose to prominence last year on the back of “Messy,” which first gained popularity on TikTok before crossing over to the charts. In the United States, the song reached No. 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped the Pop Airplay chart. She recently submitted “Messy” for consideration at the 2026 Grammy Awards, hoping to contend in record and song of the year as well as best new artist.
The singer filed her claim just a day after she canceled all of her upcoming events to “work on myself.” She decided to step back from performing after she collapsed onstage during her performance at the All Things Go festival in New York last weekend.
Lang, who has worked with everyone from Justin Bieber to SZA, previously collaborated with Young on her breakthrough single “Messy” as well as four songs off her latest album “I’m Only Fucking Myself,” which released last month. While Variety was unable to view the documents, the BBC reports that the claim was filed in London on behalf of Young and Sony Music Publishing on Wednesday, and that the credit dispute has been going on for months.
While it’s unclear which four songs are at the heart of the issue, Lang has contributed to “Good Books,” “Messy” and “Crush” off of last year’s “This Wasn’t Meant for You Anyway,” as well as “One Thing,” “Walk All Over You,” “Post Sex Clarity” and “Not Like That Anymore” off her third album.
Variety has reached out to reps for Young, Lang and Sony Music Publishing for comment.
Young rose to prominence last year on the back of “Messy,” which first gained popularity on TikTok before crossing over to the charts. In the United States, the song reached No. 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped the Pop Airplay chart. She recently submitted “Messy” for consideration at the 2026 Grammy Awards, hoping to contend in record and song of the year as well as best new artist.
The singer filed her claim just a day after she canceled all of her upcoming events to “work on myself.” She decided to step back from performing after she collapsed onstage during her performance at the All Things Go festival in New York last weekend.