Beyoncé sued over alleged unauthorised sample in popular song
Can you hear which is the original and which is the Beyoncé version?
Global superstar Beyoncé is being dragged to court over an alleged unauthorised sample in her 2022 hit ‘Alien Superstar’ from her ‘Renaissance’ album.
A company called Hirose Enterprise and a producer named Shuji Hirose are suing Queen B for alleged copyright infringement.
According to TMZ, Hirose claims to own the rights to a song called ‘Moonraker’ by Foremost Poets (aka jOHNNYDANGEROUs), the same song Beyoncé sampled in her 2022 hit.
The company specifically refers to the intro to the song ‘Alien Superstar’, which features a striking spoken-word section:
“Please do not be alarmed, remain calm"
"Do not attempt to leave the dancefloor"
"The DJ booth is conducting a troubleshoot test of the entire system”
This intro can also be heard in the original song ‘Moonraker’.
Listen to the orginal and sample here:
The lawsuit claims that Beyoncé failed to obtain the necessary sample licence before releasing the hit track.
Even though the 44-year-old superstar managed to obtain a licence weeks later from the original performer, whose real name is John Holiday, Hirose claims that Holiday had actually transferred the rights to the song to him decades ago.
Hirose further claims that Beyoncé was notified of the infringement but continued to sell the song.
He is requesting that further monetisation of the song be stopped and is also seeking unspecified damages.
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Image: Instagram/ Beyoncé (@beyonce)