Music

Katy Perry copied ‘Dark Horse’ from 2009 Christian rap song ‘Joyful Noise’ by Flame


Katy Perry’s 2013 hit song Dark Horse was copied from a Christian rap song, a jury has found.

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The unanimous verdict from a federal jury in Los Angeles comes after it was alleged the pop tune had been stolen from the 2009 song Joyful Noise.

On Tuesday the battle over damages will begin as it is determined how much Perry and the other defendants owe for copyright infringement.

Dark Horse is one of Perry’s most famous songs, having earned her a Grammy nomination. It was the third single of her 2013 album, Prism, and spent four weeks in the Billboard Hot 100 in early 2014.

What was the case about?

INDIO, CA - APRIL 14: Katy Perry performs onstage with Zedd at Coachella Stage during the 2019 Coachella Valley Music And Arts Festival on April 14, 2019 in Indio, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images for Coachella)
‘Dark Horse’ was released in 2013 (Photo: Getty)

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The case centred on whether Dark Horse had been copied from Joyful Noise, the Christian rap song penned by Marcus Gray, under the name Flame, and his co-plaintiffs Emanuel Lambert and Chike Ojukwu.

According to attorneys for Gray, the beat and instrumental line used in nearly half of Dark Horse are substantially similar to those of Joyful Noise. Gray and his co-plaintiffs sued over copyright infringement in 2014.

As a result, the seven-day trial focused on the notes and beat of the song, rather than its lyrics or recording.

What did Perry say?

Attorneys for Perry said the song sections in question represent the kind of simple musical elements that if found to be subject to copyright would hurt music and all songwriters.

“They’re trying to own basic building blocks of music, the alphabet of music that should be available to everyone,” said lawyer Christine Lepera.

Had Perry heard the Christian rap song before?

Katy Perry also made music based on her grudge against Taylor Swifts (Rich Fury/Getty Images for amfAR)
Katy Perry said she does not listen to Christian music (Rich Fury/Getty Images for amfAR)

Through lawyers, Perry and the co-authors of Dark Horse claimed they had never heard of Joyful Noise or Gray. They also said they did not listen to Christian music.

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However, all Gray had only to demonstrate was that Joyful Noise had been widely disseminated and so it was possible that it could have been heard by Perry and her co-authors.

The evidence included that the song had millions of plays on YouTube and Spotify, and that the album it’s included on was nominated for a Grammy.

What was the verdict?

It had been suggested that some of the defendants, including Perry, might not have been found liable for copyright damage as the case was about the notes and the beat of Dark Horse.

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But in a surprising result, jurors found all six songwriters and all four corporations that released and distributed the songs were liable, including including Perry and Sarah Hudson, who wrote the song’s words, and Juicy J, who only provided the rap for the song.

Other defendants found liable were Capitol Records as well as Perry‘s producers: Dr. Luke, Max Martin and Cirkut, who came up with the song’s beat.

The jurors agreed that Joyful Noise was distributed widely enough that the Dark Horse writers may well have heard it.

Perry was not present when the verdict was read on Monday.

Both Perry and Gray are yet to comment on the verdict.

Additional reporting by AP



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