Katy Loses Plagiarism Suit

Jury Finds A Portion Of Katy Perry’s 2013 Hit Was Stolen From Christian Rap Song

Yesterday a jury determined that everyone involved in the creation of one of Perry’s hit songs was responsible for taking beats from a Christian rap artist. The Perry song in question is called “Dark Horse” and is one of the tunes that Perry performed during the Super Bowl halftime show in 2015 (Remember left shark?). Perry’s song was found to be substantially similar to a rap song called “Joyful Noise” by artist Marcus Gray which was popular not long before the time “Dark Horse” was written:

In a decision that left many in the courtroom surprised, jurors found all six songwriters and all four corporations that released and distributed the songs were liable, including Perry and Sarah Hudson, who wrote only the song’s words, and Juicy J, who only wrote the rap he provided for the song…
The defendants’ musical expert testified that the musical patterns in dispute were as simple as “Mary Had a Little Lamb.”
But the jury of six women and three men disagreed, finding that the bumping beat and riff at the center of “Joyful Noise” were original enough to be copyrighted.
Perry and the song’s co-authors testified during the seven-day trial that none of them had heard the song or heard of Gray before the lawsuit, nor did they listen to Christian music.

Gray’s attorneys had only to demonstrate, however, that “Joyful Noise” had wide dissemination and could have been heard by Perry and her co-authors. They provided as evidence that it had millions of plays on YouTube and Spotify, and that the album it’s included on was nominated for a Grammy.

The penalty phase of the trial will begin today, meaning the jury will now decide how much Perry and her co-defendants owe Marcus Gray and his co-authors. Given the fact that the song was at the top of the charts for 4 weeks when it was released, it could be a substantial amount of money.

You will, of course, want to compare the original with the alleged copy:





I wasn't that impressed by the comparison. A baseline, and that little bird thingy. Sure, there's some similarity, but the world is full of similar songs. The amount of music that Led Zeppelin ripped off is legendary.

A mashup comparing the two:



I heard a talking head on Fox mention a 7 figure award? That would sting even Katy Perry. She might have to spend a few more years working as a judge on a shitty reality show.

The Wombat has Rule 5 Sunday: Claudia Cardinale raring to go at The Other McCain.