{"id":2446937,"date":"2019-07-30T02:21:09","date_gmt":"2019-07-30T08:21:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/?p=865058"},"modified":"2019-07-30T02:21:09","modified_gmt":"2019-07-30T08:21:09","slug":"katy-perrys-dark-horse-copied-christian-rapper-flame-jury-finds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/music-news\/katy-perrys-dark-horse-copied-christian-rapper-flame-jury-finds\/","title":{"rendered":"Katy Perry\u2019s \u2018Dark Horse\u2019 Copied Christian Rapper Flame, Jury Finds"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A jury unanimously ruled<\/a> that Katy Perry<\/a>\u2019s 2013 hit single \u201cDark Horse\u201d<\/a> improperly copied Christian rapper Flame\u2019s 2009 song \u201cJoyful Noise.\u201d The nine-member federal jury in a Los Angeles determined that Perry and her co-writers and producers will owe unspecified damages for copyright infringement.<\/p>\n

\u201cDark Horse,\u201d which has sold more than 13 million copies worldwide, credits several songwriters, including Perry and Sarah Hudson, who wrote the lyrics, and rapper Juicy J<\/a>, who wrote his verse. The track was produced by Dr. Luke, Max Martin and Cirkut, who created the beat in question during the week-long trial. Flame, born Marcus Gray, and Emanuel Lambert and Chike Ojukwuhis, two co-authors on \u201cJoyful Noise,\u201d first sued in 2014, alleging that \u201cDark Horse\u201d stole the song\u2019s memorable beat.<\/p>\n

Perry\u2019s lawyers argued that if the \u201ccommonplace\u201d beats in question were subject to copyright it could hurt all songwriters and have potential implications for music down the road. \u201cThey\u2019re trying to own basic building blocks of music, the alphabet of music that should be available to everyone,\u201d Perry\u2019s lawyer Christine Lepera said during closing arguments of the trial.<\/p>\n

Perry, who was not present when the verdict was read, testified that she had never heard \u201cJoyful Noise,\u201d nor heard of Flame, before the lawsuit. Her co-writers testified similarly. Flame\u2019s lawyers responded that the song was widely distributed, with millions of plays on YouTube and Spotify, and reminded the jury of Perry\u2019s origins in the Christian music scene. His team argued that Perry and her team had ripped off the main beat and instrumental line of \u201cJoyful Noise.\u201d<\/p>\n

During the trial, Perry even offered to perform \u201cDark Horse\u201d live when her lawyers were unable to play the song due to a broken speaker system. The issue was eventually fixed, so no impromptu concert was necessary.<\/p>\n

Capitol Records, Perry\u2019s label, which distributed the single, was also found liable in the lawsuit verdict. \u201cDark Horse\u201d appeared on Perry\u2019s fourth album, Prism<\/em><\/a>, released by Capitol on October 18, 2013. The track was nominated for a Grammy nomination and Perry also performed the song during her 2015 Super Bowl halftime show.<\/p>\n

The jury will decide this week how much Flame is owed in damages by Perry and the other defendants.<\/p>\n