Beyoncé tangled up in $20m copyright claim
Pop star Beyoncé is tangled up in a $20 million copyright claim centring on a sampling in her song and video “Formation”.
The estate of Anthony Barré, a deceased New Orleans rapper also known as Messy Mya, brought the lawsuit against Beyoncé and Sony Music on Monday, February 6.
Filed (pdf) at the US District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, the claim alleged that Beyoncé used statements made by Barré in his YouTube videos.
In 2010, Barré created and published the song “Booking the Hoes from New Wildings”, which featured the phrase “what happened at the New Orleans”.
According to the claim, this phrase was misappropriated and infringed in “Formation”.
The rapper also created the song “A 27 Piece Huh?” in New Orleans in 2010. It featured Barré saying “oh yeah baby. I like that”, another phrase allegedly used by Beyoncé.
If the phrases had been licensed, not only would “Formation”, the album “Lemonade” and the “Formation World Tour” have generated substantial revenues, but the licensing would have enabled international recognition for Barré’s works and as contributor to a worldwide hit song, said the suit.
“Formation” was released in 2016 and forms part of Beyoncé’s latest album “Lemonade”.
The “Formation” video and song allegedly begin with the voice of Barré saying “what happened at the New Orleans” and “bitch I’m back, by popular demand”. It also includes Barré saying “oh yeah baby”.
In October last year, counsel for Barré’s estate notified the defendants of the unlawful copying but, according to the suit, they have not offered to enter into a licensing agreement or pay compensation for their use of the phrases.
The estate is requesting damages, including profits—which are believed to exceed $20 million. It is also seeking a jury trial, injunctive relief, royalties on all future exploitations of Barré’s works, and triple damages.
The Recording Industry Association of America certified “Formation” as “gold” in September last year because of US sales of more than 500,000 digital downloads.
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