Posted on 08/02/2019 7:11:05 PM PDT by hapnHal
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Katy Perry, her collaborators and her record label must pay more than $2.78 million because the pop star’s 2013 hit “Dark Horse” copied a 2009 Christian rap song, a federal jury decided Thursday.
It was an underdog victory for rapper Marcus Gray, a relatively obscure artist once known as Flame, whose 5-year-old lawsuit survived constant court challenges and a trial against top-flight attorneys for Perry and the five other music-industry heavyweights who wrote her song.
The amount fell well short of the nearly $20 million sought by attorneys for Gray and the two co-writers of “Joyful Noise” — Emanuel Lambert and Chike Ojukwu — but they said they were pleased.
“We weren’t here seeking to punish anyone,” said Gray’s attorney, Michael A. Kahn. “Our clients came here seeking justice, and they feel they received justice from a jury of their peers.”
Perry herself was hit for just over $550,000, with Capitol Records responsible for the biggest part of the award — $1.2 million. Defense attorneys had argued for an overall award of about $360,000.
Perry’s attorney, Christine Lepera, said they plan to vigorously fight the decision.
“The writers of Dark Horse consider this a travesty of justice,” Lepera said.
“Dark Horse,” which combines elements of pop, hip-hop and trap styles, was a mega-hit for the Santa Barbara, California-born singer, with its call-and-response chorus of “Are you ready for (ready for), a perfect storm (perfect storm)?”
It spent four weeks at No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 in early 2014, and Perry would later perform it at the Super Bowl.
(Excerpt) Read more at breitbart.com ...
great song by Harrison, thanks! I won’t waste the time to listen to the Katy Perry song
PMJ covers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Anx5IctHVGU
Thanks. That does explain the theft. The examples I cited were similar, but not exact.
Talk to copy right lawyer. Seriously. Don't delay.
Out of the Woods - Country Version?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wyLTuYFISZQ
Good choice.
Haha - that’s great. Gotta show that to my son - he’ll love it.
>>I also believe that Perry doesn’t listen to Christian music and had no clue who they are. <<
Well, that’s where you’re wrong. Perry started out in Christian music, releasing an album as Katy Hudson.
They’re just both annoying undifferentiated noise, not “music”.
Rap = Krap
How could anyone tell if something was copied? They all sound alike: pumped up bass, caterwauling “lyrics” shouted over the bass and drums.
This is NOT music.
She helped cause the death of a nun.
Payment for that will come later.
That is what I had thought. As I recall, she is a P.K. (Preacher’s Kid). The song in question was from the general period when she would likely have been exposed to it. (I am not saying I entirely agree with these kinds of suits.)
Similarly, Joy Williams, of the erstwhile Civil Wars [Hunger Games soundtrack], started out in CCM (or whatever they call it now). I think she was the daughter of the man who operated the Mount Hermon retreat facility in the Santa Cruz Mountains. I never met her, but I knew someone from her class at Valley Christian High, where I think Williams graduated as Valedictorian.
Was = Is. She is living; her father is deceased.
ff
:^)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.